


Mugman: Dancing with the Devil

by gaymuffin3000



Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Cuphead Don't Deal with the Devil, M/M, Mugman: Dancing with the Devil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-01-31 22:37:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12691599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaymuffin3000/pseuds/gaymuffin3000
Summary: Cuphead and Mugman have since moved out of their Grandpa Kettle's place and they come to realize quickly that living on your own is costly.After being late on rent multiple times and losing their jobs, Cuphead suggest they go to the Devil's Casino to make some fast cash.Of course Cuphead bets their souls and now the brothers have to pay off their debt. But in a much different way than what happened in the game.(I suck at summaries)(mother forgive me for my sins)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -Mugman and Cuphead are adults in this story  
> -DevilMug is the focus but DiceCup is in here too don't worry  
> -First fic so be nice  
> -I had to break some rules to make this story work  
> -enjoy my sin

Cuphead and his brother Mugman were standing outside the Devil’s Casino.  
Cuphead began to walk in but noticed his brother wasn’t following and stopped in his tracks.

“C’mon Mugs, what are you waiting for?” Asked the cup.

Mugman fidgeted with his hands. He had a nervous look on his face. 

“Geez Cuphead, I don’t think we should go in here. Grandpa Kettle always told us not to come near this place when we were kids.”

Cuphead rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously still going on about that? Open your eyes, Mugman! We aren’t kids anymore. We don’t even live with the Kettle.”

“I know but-” 

“But nothing! We can’t afford our house and that old tea pot doesn’t wanna help us with our bills anymore so we have to go in here and get some fast cash. Fast!” 

“But Cuphead, couldn’t we just get new jobs?”

“Of course we could, Mugs.” Cuphead said sarcastically. “If rent wasn’t due tomorrow!! Even if we did manage to get jobs in just a day, it will take us forever to get enough money to pay back the landlord for all the times we have missed rent pay. Then it will be late again and our stupid landlord will charge a late fee and make our debt even higher! Or worse!! They’ll kick us out!”  
Cuphead looked at his brother. Then he sighed and put his hand on the mug’s shoulder.

“Listen Mugs, were just going in here to win some quick cash to pay off the landlord. After that, we can get some real jobs. Okay?”

Mugs scratched the back of his neck. “But how do you know if you're even gonna win? You expect me to just believe you when you stand here and tell me with a straight face that you can turn our last ten dollars into what we need? ”

Cuphead smirked confidently. “Oh please Mugs, I know everything there is to know about gambling. I’ve read all the books cover to cover. I could probably spot a cheater from a mile away. Now are you coming or not?”

Mugman looked back down the path they walked in on. All he had to do was turn around and go back to Inkwell Isle and all of this would be over. Except it wouldn’t be because he knows Cuphead would just go in there with or without him if it meant they could keep the house, and he wanted to stick by his brother’s side no matter what.

Mugman did a sigh of defeat. “Okay Cuphead. I trust you….” 

Cuphead smiled and pat his brother on the back. “Thanks Mugs! I knew you had it in you!”

Mugman laughed nervously as his brother pulled him into the casino by his wrist.

As soon as they walked in music and lights and various casino noises hit their senses like a hammer. 

“Wow Cuphead, this place is really somethin’.” Said Mugman. 

“You said it Mugs.” Replied Cuphead. “I’ve read just about everything about casinos and gambling, but actually being in the real thing sure is one heck of a feeling.” 

The casino was actually much bigger than the brothers imagined. 

The lobby had all the games which seemed to occupy their own section of the casino floor  
Roulette tables were in the top right, Craps was in the top left, Blackjack tables in the lower right and Roulette tables in the lower left. There also seemed to be other various casino games lightly scattered around the room too. There was also a far side of the casino with a restaurant, a stage with a band currently playing, and even a dance floor. Not to mention slot machines were lined up tightly against the walls.

The place took their breath away. 

“Hello, Gentleman~” Said a low voice.

The cups flinched, and turned to see who had snapped them out of their daze. 

It was none other that the casino’s sleazy manager, Mr. King Dice. 

The brothers remembered him being mentioned in the Elder Kettle’s many warnings.

“What brings two fine fellas like you to the Devil’s Casino? Easy riches?” He asked.

“Yes sir!” Cuphead mustered up the courage to speak to the manager. “Me and my brother are in a bit of a pinch with our rent. Think you can help me turn this ten dollars into six hundred by the end of the night?”

“I can do ya one better. Why don’t you come over to my table and we’ll see what we can do.” Said the King with an untrustworthy grin.

“Sounds good to me, Lead the way.” Cuphead said as the King began to usher him away to a purple Craps table.

Mugman followed his brother and whispered to him.

“Cuphead, what do you want me to do?” He asked.

“Don’t worry Mugs, I got this. How about you just go and hang around for a bit and relax. You’ve been pretty stressed out about the house for the past week. Take a load off.” Said Cuphead as he was whisked away by the King.

Mugman stood in place as his brother was taken away to the Craps table. He looked out onto the casino. He didn’t really know anything about gambling so he felt very out of place. It’s not like he could entertain himself here. So he decided to go to the other side of the casino. He couldn’t afford any of the food but at least there was a place to sit and a show to watch.

His short stature allowed him to sneak past the martini glass hostess to avoid getting charged and took a seat at a table near the dance floor where he had a pretty good view of the stage.

While sitting there, Mugman notice that this side of the casino also had a dance floor. How odd. Mugman couldn’t recall of ever hearing of any casino having dance floor. A place to eat and maybe a stage for bands or something. But a dance floor was new. Mugman shrugged it off as just another thing he didn’t know about casinos. He could probably ask Cuphead about it later, if he was still curious. Then the band, which was a group of three dominos, started to play some swing music.

Mugman started bobbing his head to the beat and looking at a few of the couples on the dance floor. 

Everyone looked like they were having a good time. 

Mugman himself personally loved to dance, and swing happened to be among his favorite to dance to. However he hasn't really had the time to as of late. Ever since they had moved out of Grandpa Kettle’s place, times have been tough. 

Both the brothers had to put most of their focus on paying their landlord on time and had to put their other interest aside. 

It wasn't until the brothers got fired from their previous job that Cuphead even suggested coming to the casino. 

They used to work at the shop but they got fired after Cuphead was caught stealing potions and selling them for cheap on the streets to get some extra money. 

Mugman wasn't mad.. Besides, Cups was just getting them some extra money for the house to put food on the table He meant well. He always meant well. 

Upon thinking about this, it dawned upon him that he hadn't really had the time to dance. The last time he remembered dancing is the day before Grandpa Kettle kicked them out. 

Suddenly, Mugman found his body itching to bust a move while he had the chance, but he didn't really want to draw attention to himself. He usually danced alone and when no one was looking. 

His foot started tapping. He tried sitting on his knees to stop it but that didn't really help because his foot tapping turned into his hips rocking. 

Mugman tried to keep his body still, But it was so difficult. The mug hadn’t danced in ages, and that swing music was speaking to his body in ways he hadn’t felt in a long time.  
It felt so refreshing. Yet so familiar, and so….inviting. 

Maybe doing a little jig next to his table wouldn't hurt. It's not like anyone's gonna look over here anyway, right? It was a pretty dark corner after all. 

So the Mug got up and stood next to his chair and started swaying his hips side to side as the swing played. 

It felt so natural to him, letting the music tell his body what to do while giving his brain a bit of a break. 

Without realizing it, Mugman had started shaking his hips more energetically, and not even a minute after that, the mug was straight up dancing, having his own little hoedown in the corner. 

“Nice moves, boy.” Said a low gravely voice. 

Mugman squeaked and put his moves to a halt.

“Eeep!” The mug turned around to see a purple demon sitting in his chair.

“W-when did you get here!? How long have you been sitting there!?” He asked.

The demon smiled. “Long enough. Where did you learn to dance like that?” It asked.

Mugman blushed slightly. “S-self taught I guess. Who are you again?” 

“That’s not important, what is important, is that you boogie on over to that there dance floor and show everybody what you got.” Said the demon.

“What!?” Mugman exclaimed. “N-no way! I couldn’t! I never danced in front of anyone before…”

“Really? You been keeping that skill all to yourself?” 

“Well, my brother has seen me dance. But that’s different. He’s my brother. I don’t really care if he sees. But the thought of other people staring at me, gives me the heebie jeebies.”

“Aw c’mon, the people out there look like they could use somethin’ special to spice up their night.”

The mug was quiet.

“Tells you what, How’s about I dance with ya. Dancin’ with a partner is supposed to make things easier ain’t it?” The Demon stood up and and offered his hand to the mug with a smirk all across his face.

Mugman hesitated. Never in a million years did he think he would get asked to dance by a demon.

Mugman reluctantly took the hand of the demon and was practically yanked onto the dance floor. 

He saw the demon wink to the trio of dominos on the stage and they began to play the swing a little slower. 

The demon took the lead, moving his feet to the beat of the music for a short while before stopping and giving the floor to Mugman.

Mugman was very nervous at first, but paused and took a deep breath. He decided to just do what he always does. Just let the music take control.

***

Before he knew it, Mugs was dancing without a care in the world. The swing had gotten faster and so had his feet. 

It felt so good to finally let loose after so long. And to the young mug’s surprise, dancing with a crowd was actually way more fun than dancing in the confinements of his room. Everyone was cheering him on and dancing right alongside him. 

Infact, since Mugs had gotten on the floor, more people were getting up to dance or join the crowd just get a better look at him.

It got to a point where the dominos invited him up to dance on the stage.

Mugs, completely lost in the sheer bliss of just dancing, got on the stage without a second thought. Every last inch of any previous insecurities melting away on the spot as he busted a move the second those drums stated laying down a crazy beat.

Everyone in the the crowd cheering and whistling for him to just keep on dancing! It was amazing! 

However, unbeknownst to the mug, the casino’s owner, the Devil himself, had emerged from his office. 

“For cryin’ out loud would someone tell those stupid dominos to keep it down!! It’s loud enough in this place and I can’t think with all that extra racket!!” Exclaimed the Devil.

“No can do, boss. That little guy is the life of the party! You wouldn’t wanna wreck the fun of our customers, would ya?” The Devil turned to look down at one of his many demon minions.

“What are you going on about, Rufus?” The Devil asked.

“You don’t see him? That little blue guy up on stage! He’s got quite the set of feet on him.” 

The Devil snarled slightly at his demon but looked closer at the stage. Sure enough there was a guy with a mug for a head dancing around like there was no tomorrow. 

“Who is he? I’ve never seen him around here.” The Devil questioned as he stared at the young mug.

“He said his name was Mugman.” The demon replied, recalling a conversation they had while on the dance floor. “He was waiting over there while his brother tries his luck for some rent money. I think his name was Cuphead or somethin’ like that.” 

The devil was listening at first but he found himself drowning out his minion’s words. Even from a distance, Satan could see that the mug’s moves were impressive. Very impressive actually. One could even say they were endearing. And those hips….

“Boss? You listening to me?” The demon addressed him directly, snapping the Devil out of his trace. 

“What are you going on about?” He asked. 

The demon chuckled. “Quite the eye catcher, ain't he, boss?” 

The Devil growled at his servant. 

“I'm uh...I'm gonna get back to work. Don't holler if you need me!” And with that the little demon sped off before Lucifer could do anything. 

The Devil rolled his eyes, dismissing the demon's teasing. 

Satan turned his attention back to Mugman and his dancing. While his moves were enchanting, as a businessman, he couldn’t help but notice that all the other customers seemed to love the little guy.

Everyone was either dancing with him or watching from their tables. He even noticed a few people forfeit in the middle of their game just to go over there. 

It dawned upon the Devil that if he could somehow employ this mug, he could drum up some serious business. But how would he go about doing that? He could only really hire people if they were either one of his demons or he had their soul contracts, and the little fella didn’t seem all that interested in gambling. 

“Boss!!” He heard a familiar voice shout. He turned around and saw his right hand man, King Dice, with a nervous look. Something rare to be seeing on the manager’s face.

“What is it, King?” 

“Its that cup-head over there! He’s about to rob this casino blind! He can’t lose!!” Said the die, with a tone of worry in his voice.

“A cup-head you say?” The Devil looked past the King, and sure enough at a craps table sat a man with a cup for head, hootin’ and hollerin’ about another victory. 

This gave Satan an idea. 

“Don’t worry King, I’ll handle this.” He said. He walked over to the table in a calm manner and took a seat next to the cup-head.

“HA! HA! HA!! YES!! ANOTHER WIN!!” Yelled Cuphead.

“Lady luck seems to be on your side tonight, boy. How about we raise the stakes.” Said Satan. 

Cuphead turned his head to the Devil. “Luck has nothing to do with it buck-o! This is pure skill you're lookin’ at!”

The Devil noticed that Cuphead’s pupils were morphed into golden dollar signs. He was completely blinded by greed. The perfect time to pounce.

“Now what’s this I hear about raising the stakes?” Cuphead inquired.

“Its simple. One roll. If you lose, I get the souls of you and your brother.”

“And if I win?” Asked Cuphead.

“You get my casino and all the money that comes with it.” Said the Devil with a sly grin, and handed Cuphead the dice.

Cuphead snatched the dice without a second thought. 

“Hot dog!!! You got yourself a deal!” He said

“Great. Let's shake on it.” Said Satan.

The two shook hands, their bet sealed by the flames of hell.

***

Mugman was having the time of his life! He didn’t know how long he had been over here, or how many people he had danced with, or why he wasn’t even tired yet but man was he having fun!

However, despite the loud music, Mugman was able to hear a shriek that rang throughout the casino.

“Cuphead?” The mug questioned out loud. He hopped off the stage and ran over in the direction of his brother.

“Hey Mugman where ya goin’?” Asked one of the ladies.

“Sorry everyone, but I gotta go. I think my brother needs me.” 

“Aw c’mon, Muggy. Don’t go now, you're the Belle of the ball.” Said a gentleman.

“Yeah, you're a real toast of the town.” flirted another.

Mugman blushed at the complements. He didn’t get those very often. 

“Sorry fellas, but I really do gotta run. Maybe I’ll see you some other time.” 

And with that Mugman ran off. The whole crowd sighed in unison at the mug’s departure. 

Mugman smiled apologetically.

He found his way over to Cuphead’s table and was shocked at the sight he saw. The Casino’s owner, the Devil Himself was looming over his brother, who was staring at the dice with a shocked and broken look on his face. 

“CUPHEAD!!!!” Mugman yelled from across the room and ran over to console his brother. 

“Cuphead! Cuphead what’s wrong!?” His brother wouldn’t respond. Mugman grabbed the older cup by the shoulders and shook him roughly, causing some of the liquid in his head to spill out. 

“Cuphead speak to me! What happened??”

Cuphead still didn’t say anything. He simply pointed at the dice on the table.

Mugman turned and looked at the dice.

“Snake eyes.” Cuphead said in a dead voice. 

Mugman turned back to his brother. “That’s okay Cuphead! I don’t care about the rent money! I just wanna know if you're okay! Why is the Devil here!?”

Cuphead looked up at his blue clad brother. “I….I didn’t just lose the money Mugs…..I..”

“What is it? What else did you lose!?” Mugman asked with concern in his voice.

“...Our souls…” Cuphead said in almost a whisper. 

“Our souls!? Cuphead you bet our SOULS!?!?” Mugman exclaimed. 

“I-I’m sorry Mugs!! I’m so sorry!! I just don’t know what happened I-I-I was just winning, and I got the 600 dollars but then I just kept betting and then and then-then-”

“And then he bet your souls and lost.” Satan’s voice chimed in.

“Now….are you boys gonna play nice or am I gonna have to take em’ by force?” He said, raising a fist at Mugman.

“NO!!” Cuphead screamed. Immediately stepping in front of his brother and pointing a glowing blue finger at the Devil.

“BACK OFF!!” He yelled. 

The Devil grinned maliciously. “Oooh. We got a tough guy now.”

Cuphead grunted. “You bet I’m tough! I”m the toughest cup in Inkwell! And I’ll kick your ass before I let you take my brothers soul!!” 

The Devil’s grin was instantly replaced with a dissatisfied frown. 

He signaled for his demons and they all slowly began to surround the cup brothers. Mugman noticed this and jumped in front of his brother. 

“Cuphead, put your finger down.” He said calmly. 

“But, Mugs I-” 

“No, Cuphead. There is a better way to deal with this and fighting Lucifer is just going to make things worse.” 

Cuphead looked at his brother and then at the Devil and back. He sighed and lowered his finger gun. 

“Alright. Now let me talk...” Said Mugman. He turned around and noticed that demons had almost completely closed in on them. 

“H-hold on a second fellas! Hear me out will ya??” The mug asked nervously.

The demon's looked at their boss, waiting for him to make a decision. 

The Devil waved his hand and with that, the demons fell back. 

“What is it boy? I want those souls and I got a business to run so hurry it up.” Ordered the Devil.

The mug gulped nervously. “Mr. Devil, s-sir, surely there must be some other way for us to repay you?” Mugman stammered. 

The Devil thought quizzically to himself. 

“Hmmm...well there is one thing you boys could do for me, but I don’t think you're up to it.” He said in a menacing voice. 

Mugman thought for a moment...Then he took a deep breath. 

“What is it?” Mugman asked.

“I’m in the market for some new employees. You think you boys can handle that?”

“If we work here for you, will you eventually lets us free?” Asked Mugman.

“Of course. Now do we have a deal?”

Again, the mug hesitated but gave satan a reluctant nod of defeat. 

“Excellent. Let’s chat in my office tomorrow. It’s getting close to closing time and I think it’d be best if you boys got settled in. King, show these mugs to their room.”

“R-room?” Questioned Cuphead.

“Oh, dontcha know? All my employees live here at the casino. Better get some rest, you boys are gonna need it.” The Devil chuckled as he walked back into his office, slamming the door.

The brothers looked at each other. A thousand emotions running through their minds.

“Right this way, fellas.” Said the King, as he began to walk in the direction of the employee quarters. 

The brothers sighed and began following the dice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!!! 
> 
> i honestly didn't expect for this to to take so long to write. All the support form the last chapter sort of pushed me to make this one even better. I tried my best but only time and comments from you guys will tell. 
> 
> Anyway, I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

The brothers were silent as they followed the King to their new living arrangements.

Cuphead and Mugman avoided eye contact with each other, as well as any eye contact with King Dice, keeping their eyes glued to the ground and watching their shoes as they walked.

However, maybe they should have paid a little attention to their giude, considering that when he stopped the cups bumped right into his backside.

The die turned and glared at the boys over his shoulder, waiting for an apology. 

The boys flinched. Mugman spoke up. “S-sorry, sir!!” He said nervously.

The King relaxed his posture and sighed as he opened the golden-brown double doors he had stopped in front of.

“Welcome to your new home boys.” He said.

Behind the doors was a suite with two twin beds with a single night table between them and a personal lamp on either side of the room and a ceiling light. There was a single bathroom on the left side as well as a closet on the right.  
The walls were a pale yellow and the carpet below a dingy beige. 

“Make yourselves at home, I’ll be here bright and early to take you to the boss’s office so be ready by then. In the meantime, get some rest while you can, there’s no telling what the boss is gonna make you do tomorrow. Night boys.” Said the die with a little bit of maliciousness in his voice. He left, shutting the doors behind him.

The boys were alone. No dancing crowds cheering their names, no gamblers showing envy of their luck, Just them. All alone with nothing to do but bask in the aftermath of the mistakes they’ve made tonight. 

Neither of them spoke, or moved, they just leaned against the doors.

After about five whole minutes, Mugman finally made the first move. He went over to the bathroom, he detached his head and poured out the contents into the sink. He reattached his head and then went over to the bed on the left and pulled the covers over himself.

Cuphead, who was still leaning on the doors, decided to go to bed too.

“Poor it out first, Cup.” Came Mugman’s voice, ever so slightly muffled by the sheets.

“What?” Questioned Cuphead.

“Your drink. Whatever you've had in your head all day. Poor it out before you go to sleep.” 

“Oh. Yeah...right..slipped my mind.” Cuphead awkwardly chuckled as he went over to pour out his head.

After that, he went over to turn off the lights and make his way over to the other bed and got under the covers as well.

Once again, silence fell upon the brothers.

“Mugs, listen, I-” Cuphead was about to break the silence when he heard the faintest of sniffles.

His head instantly shot off his pillow. “Mugman?” He questioned with worry in his tone.

“Yes, Cuphead.”

“Are you.. Okay?” 

“No..” That last response turned into a whine as Mugman rose his head off the bed to reveal tears running down his smooth porcelain face.

“Oh my gosh, Mugman!” Cuphead all but leaped out of his bed to rush to his brother’s side. He climbed on the bed with him and hugged him. 

“It’s okay Mugman! It's okay! We’ll be okay!” Cuphead tried to console his brother’s worries.

“It's not okay, Cup! I should have been there to stop you!! If I just hadn’t been so distracted on that- that stupid dance floor! I could have, I could have stopped you!! I- I could have done something!”

“Shhh!! Hey now! None of this is your fault!” 

“But-” 

“No buts! Mugman, I was the one who gambled all our souls away! It’s my fault. I mean….”

Cuphead trailed off as he saw that his words weren't helping his brother. 

“Hey, Mugman…”

Mugman looked up.

“Listen, I’m gonna come clean...about something..”

 

“What is it?” Mugman asked softly.

“Well….I’m not saying anything was your fault because it wasn't, it was all me, But you are kind of the reason I kept gambling anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, After I won the money, the house had offered another bet but I was ready to go. But when I turned around and saw you dancing, it seemed like you were having such a good time. I didn’t wanna ruin your fun.”

 

“Cuphead….”

“I hadn’t seen you that happy and social in ages, brother. So I figured, why not distract myself for at least a little longer? For your sake. There’s always a chance I could win a little more. I don’t know why but somehow I just kept winning and the more I won, the more I went against my better judgement...”

“Are you..Are you serious?”

“Yes I’m serious! Ever since the rent became a problem, you have been super depressed. Nothing I did would make you feel better so when I finally saw you happy….I couldn’t bring myself to steal your joy.” 

Mugman was silent. 

Had he really been depressed this whole time? Sure he hadn’t been his happiest lately but he never would have classified it as depression. 

“Depressed?” He questioned.

“Well, yeah. Pretty much. You were spending a lot of time in our room and didn’t come outside with me anymore. And when I managed to bring you grocery shopping with me, you wouldn’t even let me get your favorite drink . Instead you insisted that I spend the money on something less expensive.”

Mugman thought for a moment. Now that they were talking about it, he could see how his behavior as of late could have come across as a little depressive. 

“And like I said, you weren’t dancing so much anymore. I missed that...Your dancing is kind of what kept me from getting too depressed myself.”

Mugman looked up at his brother. He smiled at the compliment.

“Really?” The mug chuckled. 

“Well duh!” The cup replied playfully. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that your moves can make the whole room brighten up.” 

Mugman started blushing. “Stop it, Cuphead.”

“I’m serious! I can’t believe you're so shy about it. If I had your talents I’d be showing them off to all of Inkwell.”

“Okay! Okay! I get it! I’m good at dancing!” Said Mugman. He wasn’t sure how much more complimenting he could take. 

“Not stopping until I know you feel better! Do you feel better?” Cuphead teased as he nudged his brother’s shoulder.

“Yes! I feel better!” Laughed Mugman as he gently pushed his brother away. Cuphead laughed too.

After their laughter slowly let up, Mugman spoke again.

“You know Cuphead, I don’t think blaming anyone, even ourselves, is gonna help us much. I mean, no matter who’s fault it is, we are stuck in the same boat. We both have to do our part to get out of here with our souls so why waste time being angry.” 

Cuphead stared at his brother. “Whoa, Mugs, that’s pretty profound of you to say.”

“Well doesn’t it make sense? If we are stuck here for God knows how long, is being angry the whole time really gonna make it go by any faster?”

“Yeah, I guess you're right Mugs.”

The brothers flopped on Mugman’s bed, lying in their backs. Staring at the ceiling. 

“Hey Cups…”

“Yeah, Mugs?”

“Let’s just do our best while we are here, okay?” 

“Yeah..” Cuphead smiled genuinely at his brother. “Let’s just do our best.”

***  
It was 8AM on the dot when the cup brothers were rudely awoken from their slumber due to a loud knocking on their door, followed by an impatient sounding voice. 

“I hope you boys are up and decent! The boss is waiting and he doesn’t like to wait.” 

“WE'RE UP!!” Cuphead yelled, letting King Dice know he could stop knocking. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked around his unfamiliar surroundings. “Oh, yeah, it’s our first day on the job as the Devil’s servants. I was hoping it was a dream.” He said, scratching his handle.

Mugman yawned. “Me too. But reality has other plans, brother.” Said the mug as he put his straw back in his head after it had fallen out in his sleep.

“Hey, what are we gonna do about drinks today? You think the Devil is gonna let us put anything in our heads?” Inquired Cuphead.

Mugman thought for a moment. “I don’t know, but I think we should be okay with just water from the sink for now.” Said Mugman, lacing on his shoes.

“Alright.” Cuphead shrugged. The boys filled up their heads and stood in front of the double doors.

“Well, Cuphead, you ready?” Asked Mugman.

“As I’ll ever be. Let’s do our best, brother.” Answered Cuphead. 

The brothers did a fist bump and opened the doors to see King Dice waiting there, with his foot tapping and looking closely at his pocket watch.

“Finally! I thought you mugs would never be ready!” The King said as he noticed the two standing there. “Honestly how long does it take two mug-heads to get ready?”

“Yeesh, Dice-man relax! We’re ready now. Aren’t we?” Said Cuphead.

King Dice glared at him, leaning down to his level and getting in his face.

“That’s Mr. King Dice to you, boy.” He said in a low tone.

Cuphead scoffed. “Well isn’t that cute. Well, Mr. King Dice, just call me Mr.Cuphead while we’re at it.”

“You don’t wanna test me boy, or I’ll make working here a living nightmare for you.”

“You're a little late pal. Working for the Devil himself is about as nightmare-ish as this can get.”

King Dice growled. The two were having stare off and that’s when Mugman decided to chime in.

“E-excuse me, Mr. King, don’t you think we should get going?” He said, trying his best to dispel the random tension between the two.

King glanced at the mug, before standing up-right, adjusting his tux and clearing his throat.

“Follow me.” He said, with distaste in his tone as he started walking.

“Cuphead! What was that about!!” Mugman whispered.

“You know I don’t like being rushed in the morning. Not to mention this water isn’t doing much for my overall mood.” Cuphead responded quietly.

“Well can you please tone down the sass a bit? Were not exactly in the right position to be on the bad side of anybody here.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!!”

***  
The three walked into the office. The cups standing behind the die. 

“Boss, I got your newest employees here.” Said the King as he bowed in the presence of his higher up. 

“Well done, Dice. You are dismissed. I want to talk with them alone.” Said the Devil, waving his hand without looking up from his papers. 

“My pleasure, sir.” Said the die, as he took his leave. Shutting the door. 

The Devil finished signing off on a paper before looking down upon the brothers from his desk. 

The cups became stiff as a board and the Devil chuckled lowly.

“Take a seat, fellas.” He said, waving his hands again making the boys levitate.

They were surprised for a moment before they were flopped down into some extra chairs that definitely weren't there before.

Satan's eyes immediately landed on Mugman, causing the young mug to gulp nervously. 

“So, you're the Mugman that was causing my customers to quit in the middle of their games last night?”

Mugman blushed. “I caused them to quit? What are you talking about?”

“Oh don’t act all innocent. You mean to tell me you didn’t notice the crowd you were attracting last night? You had half my casino drooling all over you.”

The mug’s porcelain cheeks turned an even brighter shade of blue. “Goodness me! Really? I didn’t know! I’m so sorry, sir! It won’t happen again while we’re here! I swear!” 

“Oh you bet it will happen again, your moves are exactly what this casino needs.” Said the Devil.

“E-excuse me?” Mugman questioned.

“Yeah, cut to the chase, Lucifer!” Exclaimed Cuphead. 

“Cuphead!” 

“Sorry! It’s this dang water in my head!”

The Devil growled. “Okay, fine. I’ll be frank with you boys. You see, it may not look like it, but this place isn’t raking in as much cash as it used to. Not to mention you two are the first souls I’ve managed to get my hands on in quite some time.” Said the Devil. “I figure the best way to get money is to charge people for something they just can’t get anywhere else. And as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one of you.” 

Mugman couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you… are you asking me to dance for the casino?!” 

“I’m not asking, I’m telling. You're our new performer. With your moves we’ll be able to put this place back on the map.”

Mugman sunk down in his seat. 

“Hey! C’mon Mr.Devil-man. There has to be something else for my brother to do. The guy has stage fright for crying out loud!” Said Cuphead, fully aware that the mere idea of performing in front everyone was stressing out his brother.

“Do I look like the type to care? He clearly didn’t have any stage fright last night. He either dances or I get his soul for good. And as for you, congratulations, you're our new bus boy.”

“But-”

“Not. Another. Word.” Said the Devil in a low intimidating voice. “Now, Shall we seal the deal?”

He put his hand out for either of the boys to shake.  
Mugman sat up in his seat, taking a breath and looking Satan straight in the eyes with a nonchalant expression on his face.

“Deal.” Said the mug. He reached out to shake the Devil’s hand.

“But, Mugman, how are you going to-” 

“I’ll get over it Cuphead. I have to if we are going to get out of here.” He shook the Devil’s hand and the deal was sealed once again by the flames of hell. 

“Excellent.” Said the Devil.

“Before we wrap this up, I do have one small request, if it isn’t too much trouble…” Said Mugman.

“What is it?” The Devil growled.

“Would it be too much to ask that we take a moment to switch our drinks in our heads. I don’t know if you noticed but water tends to make my brother a little snappy.”

“Hey!” Exclaimed Cuphead.

“Fine.” The Devil said, he quickly wrote a note and handed it to Mugman. “Just go to the kitchen and show that to the chef. I’ll send King Dice for you in a little while. Now get out of my office.” He said, quickly pushing the boys out of his office with his magic and slamming the door behind them.

The boys stood there for a moment.

“Geez, Mugman! Why’d you have to call me out like that!” Cuphead exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Cups…” Mugman replied with a tone in his voice.

“Whoa, Mugs, are you okay?”

“No! I am most certainly NOT okay!” Mugman exploded. “I can’t believe this!” I have to dance in front everyone!! Out of all the jobs he could have chosen for me he chose for me to be a performer! UGH!! I wished I had never danced at all last night!!!” 

“Yikes..” Cuphead patted his brother on the back. “If water makes me snappy then it makes you emotional.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just been holding that in the whole time.” Mugman tried to compose himself. “I’m just glad I convinced him to let us switch drinks.”

“Same here! Speaking of drinks, let's hurry and get to the kitchen. What does that note say anyways?”

Mugman tried to read the note. But where there should have been letters there were a bunch of demonic symbols. “Umm…..I don’t know. It’s written in some sort of weird satanic language.”

“Well whatever. I’m sure the chef can read it. Let’s head to the kitchen.” Cuphead started walking but then stopped in his tracks. “Wait a minute, where the kitchen?”

“I don’t know. I guess he forgot to tell us.” 

“Aw crud!” exclaimed Cuphead. 

Neither of them wanted to go back and ask the Devil for directions. What were two cup-heads to do?

“Mugman? Is that you?” A familiar voice called. 

Mugman turned his head around. “Oh. H-hey! It was Rufus, right?”

The purple demon walked over to the mug and his brother. “Yep, Rufus. What are you guys doing here? If you haven’t noticed, the casino don’t open till later at night.” 

“Mugman, who is this?” Asked Cuphead.

“Oh! Sorry Cups. This is Rufus. I kinda….danced with him last night.”

“You? Danced with a demon? Didn’t know you had it in you. Mugs.” Cuphead teased.

“I know! I know! I never thought I’d dance with a demon either but when you're high off music you do some crazy things. Hey Rufus, you think you can tell us where the kitchen is?”

“Oh sure thing, follow me.” Said Rufus as he started walking. Mugman and Cuphead followed. “So Mugman, you still haven’t told what your doing here exactly.”

“Oh! Well, actually, Rufus, we’re your new co-workers! We kind of lost our souls to the Devil. So we kind of work here now. Temporarily.” 

“Really? Heh, don’t tell me. You're our new performer?” Guessed the demon. 

“How’d you know!? Are demons psychic?”

“Heh-heh! Nah, just makes sense. With talents like yours it would be a waste to give you any other job.” Said the demon, stopping in front of a black door. “Here’s the kitchen fellas. See ya on stage, Mugs.” Rufus said before taking his leave. 

“Thanks, Rufus!” Mugman called.

“Lucky.” Said Cuphead.

“Lucky?”

“You already got a work buddy and you technically haven't even started working yet.”

“Jealous much? C’mon. Let’s get something in our heads before King Dice shows up.”

He pushed the kitchen doors open to see that it was a mostly empty kitchen, save for the one demon who was chopping vegetables on the counter top. He was a demon much like Rufus and some of the other demons that could be seen running around the casino. Except he was much taller and of course wore a chef’s outfit and hat.

“Um, Hello Mr. Chef, s-sir?” Mugman spoke.

“The names Donovan, kid. What brings you to my kitchen?” Said the chef, not looking up from his cutting.

“This.” Mugman slipped the note from the Devil up on the counter and waited for Donovan to read it. 

“Hm...Okay, help yourselves.” He said, immediately going back to his chopping after reading it.

“Whoa really?” Said Mugman.

“Boss says you boys have all access to whatever you want to put in your heads. So knock yourselves out. No alcohol though. Fridge is over there.”

“Hot dog!!” Exclaimed Cuphead, opening the refrigerator to choose a drink. 

“Wow, They’ve got all kinds of drinks in here! I’m going with fruit punch!” He said, as he poured out his water and replaced it with the red punch. “What are you gonna have Mugs?”

Mugman thought for a moment, studying the contents of the refrigerator. He didn’t see anything he really wanted. But he did see pre-sliced lemon and lime wedges. That gave him idea.

“Excuse me, Donovan, you wouldn’t happen to have any tea bags would you?” 

“Top of the fridge.” Donovan answered.

Mugman looked up to see that the top of the fridge was well out of his reach.

“Hey, Cups, give me boost will ya?”

“Sure thing bro.”

Cuphead gave Mugman a boost and once he was up there he could see there was not only tea, but some sugar cubes as well.

Mugman grabbed them both and Cuphead set him back down.

Mugman went over to the sink and poured out his water, replacing it with fresh hot water. Then he put in the tea bag, letting the paper tag hang over the side of his head. Then he put in the sugar cubes and the lemon and lime wedges.

“Ta-da!” He said cheerfully. 

“I don’t know why I expected anything less. You always go the extra mile for your drinks Mugs.” Said Cuphead.

“I like to feel fancy.” Mugman said as he bent his straw down to take a sip from his own head. “Not to mention tea is a very relaxing drink. I’m gonna need to be able to keep my nerves in check if I’m going to be able to dance tonight.”

“I’m just glad to have that water out of my head. Say? Where is that King Dice? Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

“Good. You’re both here.” Said the King as he walked in, holding some clothes on a hanger..

“Yep. Were here. What’s first on the agenda, Mr. King?” Asked Cuphead.

The King pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time.

“First we need to get you boys into uniform and too your stations.” He handed Cuphead the clothes he was carrying. 

“Here’s your uniform. There’s a place to change around the corner. Wait in the hall for me when you're done. Got that?” 

“Alright. See ya bro.” Cuphead waved at his brother before leaving the kitchen to go change.

 

“Bye Cups.” Mugman waved.

“As for you, your costume is backstage.” 

“Costume?” Mugman questioned. 

***  
Backstage, Mugman was left in a dressing room. It was an old, pretty bad looking dressing room. It seemed like whoever used this room before him left it a mess and nobody had cleaned it up since.

He was told to pick a costume from the rack. Miraculously the clothes seemed to be the only clean thing in the room, considering they were covered by plastic. Most of them were either too big for him or too flashy for his taste. Not to mention there didn’t seem to be any male clothes. 

Mugman sighed and opted for a pale yellow dress with white ruffles underneath. He had worn a few dresses in his days so it wasn’t too big a deal for him. 

He walked out of the dressing room, wiping just a tad bit of dust off before he was startled by a voice.

“Well well well, don’t you look snazzy.” 

Mugman jerked, he looked up and saw that it was Rufus.

“Rufus? What are you doing back here? Where did King Dice go?” Asked Mugman

“Oh, he went to go show your brother the ropes. He left me here to supervise your rehearsal.”

“Rehearsal?” 

“Yeah, I know you don’t really need it, considering you got some serious talent, but nothing wrong with a little warm up before opening night. Not to mention it's always best to look like you're working, less you get caught slacking.” 

“Oh...okay..” Mugman said, an obvious sad tone in his voice.

“Hey pal, why the long face? I know you're working for the Devil and all, but it ain’t so bad once you get used to it.” 

“It’s not that. I mean, it's kind of that, but that’s not what I’m sad about right now. It’s just...I can’t dance in front of all these people like the Devil wants me to. Last night I was just letting off a little pent up steam, I didn’t think I’d ever get stuck doing this…”

Rufus looked at the young mug sympathetically.

“Listen, Mugman, I get it. What ya did last night was fun and you were amazing and had a good time. But that didn’t cure your stage fright. Understandable. I never really heard of someone who got over it in a day. So, how’s about I dance with ya till you feel better about it?”

Mugman stared at Rufus with a shimmer of hope in his eyes. 

“Really, Rufus? You’d do that for me?”

Rufus smiled. “Eh, I did it last night, what’s a few more times?” 

Mugman suddenly hugged the demon with all his might.

“Oh thank you, Rufus!! I don’t know what I’d do without you!!” He thanked him cheerfully.

“If you don’t stop suffocating me we're gonna find out!” The demon said, struggling to breath.

“Oh my goodness!” Mugman released the demon, causing him to almost collapse. “I’m so sorry Rufus! I forget my own strength sometimes!!” He rushed to help the demon balance himself.

“You’re just full of surprises ain’tcha?” He said popping his spine back into the proper alignment. “How’d such a small mug like you get so strong anyways?”

“Well, believe it or not, me and my brother have had to fight quite a few battles in our day.”

“Really? Tell me all about it. After rehearsal of course. Let’s get started.” 

The band, for whatever reason, wasn’t there yet. So Rufus ended up pulling a radio from behind the certain. He started turning the dial to find a signal.

“What’s your favorite music.” He asked.

“Bebop Jazz actually. If you can find it.”

The demon turned the knob a few more times until an upbeat saxophone could be heard playing. “Bingo! Alright let’s get moving.”

***

About an hour into rehearsal, Mugman was feeling a little better. Infact if he didn’t know any better, he was having almost as much fun as last night.

Of course his emotions weren’t really gone, and being distracted by his thoughts caused him to stumble a few times. While he and Rufus were able to laugh it off, it got to a point where a much needed break was in order.

Rufus turned the music off. “Alright, Mugman, let’s take five.”

When the music stopped, so did Mugman. He caught his breath before taking a sip of the tea in his head. “Sounds good to me.”

The two disappeared backstage.

The Devil peered from behind the window of his office until the two were out of sight. Then he returned to his desk and continued doing paperwork. 

At least he tried to continue doing paperwork. But he kept pausing as random little visions of Mugman’s dancing from earlier kept popping in and out of his mind. he kept trying to push the thoughts out of his brain but froze when he noticed the last few papers he’d signed had Mugman’s name on them where his signature should have been. 

“What the hell is this…” The Devil mumbled to himself. 

He dropped his feather pen and rubbed his fingers between his brow. Then he reached in his desk’s bottom most drawer and pulled out a large, hellishly decorative flask and practically downed the whiskey that was inside. 

He slammed it down on his desk and breathed a long slow breath. 

Images of the mug’s hips and body flashing through his mind a few more times. 

The Devil didn’t understand. Of all the years he had been here, running his casino and collecting souls, he had never once been attracted to anyone in any way. So why now? Why this mug of all people?

It wasn’t even just his body. It was other things the Devil noticed in the very few times he had talked to the mug. Like when he stepped in front of his brother the other night and offered a negotiation instead of a brawl. And in his office earlier today, while clearly a bit nervous at first, managed to be very calm and damn near sophisticated during the conversation. The way the mug looked at him so nonchalantly definitely struck something inside the Devil. He just didn’t know what.

The mug definitely had his attention to say the least…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it! I hope it was good. PLEASE don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Like I said I tried really hard with this.
> 
> I think the next chapter is gonna be a little bit of DiceCup maybe?? I don't know yet but we'll see! 
> 
> Okay, ta-ta for now!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE SUPER LONG WAIT! I had to start over twice! Once because it didn't save, (thanks technology) and the other time because I didn't like the way I was writing it. 
> 
> But yeah! Here it is! Fair warning the f-word is said in this. Only one time I believe. So, sorry if that ruins the fic for you but it had to be done or I wouldn't like it. And if I don't like it I don't post it and then we are all sad. 
> 
> But Anyway, I really hope you enjoy!

The casino had opened its doors about an hour ago. A good number of patrons had come flooding in, though very few actually came to gamble. In fact, a majority of them were quite eager to get to the other side of the casino where the stage was. 

Behind said stage, Mugman was having a panic attack. 

“Geez Mugman calm down would ya! It’s not that bad out there.” The demon said, trying to calm the mug down.

“Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD!?” Mugman started breathing heavily. Pacing back and forth across the wooden floors. “This is way more people than last night! I knew there would be a crowd but I thought at least a majority of them would come to gamble, not come over here!” 

“Maybe they don't even know your here. For all we know you could just be a pleasant surprise for them!” Said Rufus, trying to ease Mugman’s worries.

Mugman’s breathing slowed down a bit. Maybe Rufus was right. How would they know that Mugman worked here now? Sure he made the deal with Satan in the public of the casino but he was sure anybody who was a part of the crowd from last night couldn't hear the confrontation over the loud music. Not to mention the exact job of entertainment that Mugman worked now was never even mentioned during the kerfuffle last night. That wasn't discussed until he was in the privacy of the Devil’s office. 

Mugman peeked out from behind the curtains. Not even fully showing his face. It only took one person to notice him and the whole crowd went ballistic. 

“Hey everyone! Look there he is!” One man yelled.

The crowd looked at the stage for all but a second before men and women started hollering and whistling. 

A deep blue blush made its way to Mugman's face. He pulled himself back behind the curtains and fell dramatically on the floor. 

“It's over Rufus. They're all here for me…” 

“Oh come on Muggs, is that really so bad? The crowd loves ya!” 

“That's not the point Rufus. I just don't know how to satisfy all of them, and if I don't, the Devil is going to keep me and my brother’s soul forever!” Mugman put a hand delicately to his forehead. “Just leave me here so I can die…” 

“Mugman, your being a tad dramatic. Don't ya think?” Rufus pointed out, annoyed by the mug’s cliched way of dealing with his pre-show jitters. 

“What are you talking about?” Mugman asked. Completely oblivious to the dramatic book cover-like pose he was doing right now. 

Rufus rolled his eyes and sat down next to the mug. “Hey Mugman, it’s okay. It's not like ya doing this alone. Ya got me remember?” 

Mugman froze for a moment before sitting up and letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Your right Rufus. I’m sorry. It’s just that...I feel really pressured.”

At that moment, Cuphead came back stage. 

“Hey Mugs! Thought I’d come see you before your show….” Cuphead trailed off, noticing his brothers emotional distress. “Whoa brother, you look down in the dumps.” 

“Hey Cups. I just really don’t want to go out there. All those eyes on me...I can’t even stand the thought of it! “

“Oh c’mon bro, I know you can do it. You just gotta-” Cuphead’s encouragement was interrupted when King Dice made his way backstage as well.

“Cuphead! There you are! Trying to get away from work I see!” Said the King. Instantly accusing the cup of being a slacker.

“No I’m not!” Cuphead defended himself. “For your information, my brother is having an emotional break down and I am trying to make him feel better.” 

King Dice looked passed the cup to see Mugman sitting on the floor, a sense of fear scattered across his face. 

As much as King Dice didn’t really care, these people wanted a show and he needed Cuphead to come back to work. 

“Well of course he is. I wouldn’t want to go out there either if I was dressed like that.” Said the die. 

“Hey! What’s wrong with his clothes?!” Cuphead inquired, defensive of his brother’s choice in clothing.

“Nothing at all really. Just that it looks awfully drab.”

“But, you told me to pick a costume and there wasn’t much in there and so I picked this.”

“That is no excuse! I know for a fact that there is something better in there. When I told you to pick a costume I didn’t think you’d pick something so...blah...How on Earth did you expect to walk out there on stage and perform like a million bucks if you don’t look and feel like a million bucks?”

“What are you saying?” The mug asked. Confused at what the die was leading up to. 

King Dice rolled his eyes. And grabbed the mug’s hand and yanked him to his feet. “Come on, with got some work to do.” 

***  
No less than twenty minutes later, Mugman, walked out of his dressing room looking like a whole new glass.

“Holy toledo, Mugs! You look great!” Cuphead said. 

“You sure do look like a fine dish, I’ll say that much.” Added Rufus.

They weren’t exaggerating either. Mugman, had on a whole new dress that King Dice had picked out. It was a golden dress with pale yellow going down the center that matched the material on top of his chest. Wing-like sleeves with an orange ribbon going down the middle that matched the trim. The skirt of the dress had two pale yellow petticoat layers and yellow heels that strapped around his ankles. He was also wearing an orange charm on his handle, almost like an earring , that resembles an upside down heart. And just a tad of pale yellow eyeshadow and some eyeliner.

“D-do you really think so?” Mugman asked bashfully, surprised that they actually liked his new look.

“Um, Yeah! You look amazing bro!”

“Thanks, Cuphead!” Mugman giggled at his brothers excited reaction. “It was all Mr.Dice. He chose everything!” Mugman said.

“Wow...Thanks, King.” Cuphead thanked the manager genuinely. 

“Oh, think nothing of it. Just doing my job in making sure you can do yours. Now, as proud as I am of my work, I must admit you do seem to be missing something…” Said the King, tilting Mugman’s face lightly to make sure the makeup was symmetrical. 

Cuphead satred at his brother for a second or two before an idea popped into his head.

“I got it! Wait here!!” He said excitedly, and ran off to the kitchen. Seconds later the cup came back. Snatching his brother's mug clean off his body. 

 

“Cuphead! What are you doing!? Put my head back!!”

“This will only take a second! Quit your whining!” 

***  
When Cuphead came back with Mugman's head, his tea had been replaced with black cherry soda and topped with whipped cream. 

“Perfect!” Exclaimed King. “That's exactly what was missing.” 

Mugman, now that he had soda in his head, was feeling a little bubbly. 

“You feel better, Mugs?” Cuphead asked, noticing his brothers slightly more cheerful attitude.

“Yeah, kind of. I still don’t wanna go out there though….” Mugman replied, peeking from behind the stage once more only to have the patrons start cheering his name again. He ducked behind the curtains.

“Listen Mug-head.” Said King Dice.

“Mugman!” Cuphead corrected, annoyed. 

King Dice rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Mugman. Let me teach you a little trick. Go ahead and look out there one more time.”

“But If I do that they’ll-”

“Just do it, I have to show you this if it’s gonna make any sense.” Said the King, becoming impatient. 

Mugman gulped and peek from behind the curtains once again, the crown becoming a little louder. Making his stomach churn. 

“Okay. Now what?” Mugman asked, trying not to barf.

 

“Alright, you notice how all the stage lights are pointing down on the stage?”

Mugman nodded. 

“And how none of the lights are pointing at the audience,” 

Mugman nodded again.

“So, what scares you the most about being in front of an audience?”

Mugman shivered at the question. “Seeing all those eyes on me!” He answered. 

“But how can you even see their eyes? All the lights are on you? It looks almost pitch black from where we’re standing.” 

Mugman looked out the audience. King Dice was right. It was quite hard to see the audience or their eyes with all the lights in his face. It calmed him a little bit, but the fear of going out their still lingered in the pit of his stomach.

“But Mr.Dice, I know they’re there! How am I-” 

“Funny thing about perception: it’s really easy to imagine something isn’t there when you can’t even see it.” Said the King. He let the words sink in for a moment before speaking again.

“Well, I’d love to stay but as the manager I must be on my way. This staff can’t do anything without me. And Cuphead, get back to work.” He said. 

“Yes sir!” Said Cuphead. “Break a leg, bro!” He wished his brother luck before following the die down the small set of stairs.

“You think you can do this?” Asked Rufus.

“Yeah, I Think I can…” Mugman says. He signals for the band to start playing his music.

A snazzy drum roll began rumbling through out the casino. 

“You remember your cue, right?” Mugman asked.

Rufus nodded. Mugman nodded back and took a deep breath before he walked out onto the stage, rolling his hips to the sound of the drums before roughly popping them to halt when the melody began to drop.   
***  
The Devil was walking by the dining area, smoking a cigar and looking for King Dice to help him with some business papers. His ears perked up at the sound of a drum roll beginning to play. He turned his attention towards the stage to see Mugman slowly moving his hips.

Satan could feel the slight blush creep it’s way onto his cheeks. He was thankful for the fur that covered his face as he cautiously continued to watch. 

The mug’s body came to an abrupt halt as the drums stopped momentarily before letting the melody smoothly roll it’s way in. 

The crowd cheered for and whistled at the sight. A hint of jealousy finding its way into the Devil’s mind caused the ruler of demons to growl lowley under his breath. 

He caught himself and shook his head. Trying to dismiss the emotion. He shouldn’t be feeling this way! If anything he should be happy, ecstatic even, to see that the patrons were liking the show that they had paid for. His plan was working as predicted. 

Later into the number, one of his demons, Rufus had stepped out onto the stage and was now dancing alongside Mugman. 

As he watched, a faint sense of envy began to wash over him. He found himself wishing it was him up there, Dancing with the cute mug-head, holding his body close, dipping him down and lifting him up and -

WAIT! What was he thinking!? It felt like all the confusing thoughts from earlier were coming back but at a stronger force. Why was he feeling this way? And why was he feeling this for that stupid mug! 

“Mugman..” The Devil thought bitterly in his head. How he now loathed this mug’s mere existence. How dare he waltz into his casino and mambo like he owns the place only to get himself trapped in the Devil’s little deal. And yet still, here he dances, gracefully and magestically with sense of fully aware maturity. Dancing like he knew exactly how the dress he wore gripped his body and using it to his advantage. The heels doing things to his legs that should be fucking illegal. Showing off the strength and sexiness that those legs held. It was disgraceful.

Yet here he stands. Watching the mug bend his flexible body to hypnotize everyone in the room. Himself included. He wanted to hate him, he really did.

But how can you hate someone who can make a deal with Satan himself without even batting an eye and then shamelessly hold up their end of the bargain with the courage of someone who had been to hell and back and wasn’t afraid of it anymore.

The Devil put a hand to his fur covered chest, feeling his heart pound faster as he continued to watch. How could it be that a mug could play with his emotions like this?

It was only when the number ended and Mugman was showered in flowers and praise from his fans that he decided to take his leave. 

He couldn’t even remember what he needed King Dice for anymore. It didn’t matter to him now. He just wanted sometime to himself…again.

***  
The number ended, Mugman and Rufus stood side by side, holding their pose and breathing heavily.

The crowd went ballistic. Cheering and whistling and throwing flowers at the mug and his partner.  
Mugman and Rufus bowed. Mugman got down to pick up a few of the flowers, when a young (and admittingly handsome) young man grabbed his hand. 

“Mugman! Will you do a humble fellow such as myself the honor of sharing a dance?” He asked all swave-like.

Mugman blushed a baby blue. “Golly! I-I suppose I could…”

Then a lady bumped the man out of the way, replacing his hand with hers. “No Mugman! Dance with me! I got way better moves than him!” 

Mugman’s blushed deepened. “Gee! I mean I’d love to but-”

“No Mugman! Dance with me!”

“Mugs! Come dance with us!” 

“I love you Mugman!” 

Patron after patron was shouting how much they wanted a chance to dance with him. Offering money and anything else they could give to get him to say yes.

“What should I do, Rufus?” Said Mugman, not quite knowing how to respond to the attention.

“I’d say just give the people what they want.” Said the demon, shooting the mug a wink. “I’ll leave them to ya!” He said, walking backstage. 

“Rufus! W-wait!” Mugman tried to go after his friend, but he was blocked by a sea of patrons. In all his life Mugman never thought over a hundred people would be so very thirsty for his attention. As scary as it was, it was also kind of flattering.   
***  
Meanwhile, Cuphead was hard at work, refilling everyone’s drinks and taking dirty dishes while serving up hot food. Cleaning up spills and crumbs. He looked up at the stage to see his brother surrounded by thirsty fellas and dames. With flowers scattered all over the place. He groaned in his mind. 

“Great, I'm gonna have to clean all that up now…” The cup complained in his mind.

After everyone in the in the dining area seemed taken care of for the time being, and most of them being preoccupied with his brother anyway, he thought he’d go over to the gambling side and refill people’s beverages.

He went over and noticed that it was much calmer over here. It was a breath of fresh air for him compared to the chaos of the dining side. He went on his way, refilling gentlemen’s beers and ladies’ wine. 

He didn’t really speak while he went about doing this, that was until he walked pass one of the tables King Dice was dealing at. The King seemed pretty frustrated with a particular gambler. 

Cuphead stopped and watched for a moment, they were playing casino war.

When King dealt the cards, Cuphead noticed a hint of shadiness to the player. Smirking as he kept showing aces and kept winning. Much to the manager’s dismay. 

It was then that Cuphead saw it. It was a slick, almost invisible move but he caught it. 

“Ha! I win again mister Dice.” Said the player, who was a dog. with a shit-eating grin on his face. He could tell that he was getting to the manager.

“My, my. Lady luck sure seems to be on your side tonight. How’s about another round?” Said the King. 

“Hmm…A tempting offer, but I think I’ll pass. I want my money.” 

King Dice tried again to convince the man to go for at least one more round, trying to win the house's money back. This guy was about to walk away with almost as much money as Cuphead was about to walk away with last night. He couldn't let that happen! 

“He’s not gonna bet again, King.” Said Cuphead, walking over to the table casually. 

King Dice groaned under his breath, speaking of Cuphead, here comes the little runt now…

“Oh and why is that, little cup?” Asked the dog.

“Yes, Cuphead, why don't you tell us why he won't be playing again.” Said the King. 

“Well, because he's cheating of course.” Cuphead said blankly. Almost as if it was obvious. 

“What are you going on about boy! I ain't no cheater!” The dog barked at him.

“Oh really? You expect me to believe that you just got lucky and happened to get every single ace in the deck?” Cuphead argued. Pointing to the deck King Dice was holding.

“Quit your yapping, boy! I won fair and square!” The dog yelled defensively.

“Cheating is impossible! All my cards are marked! He couldn't cheat if he wanted too.” Said the die. There’s no way he could have not seen him cheat. Right?

“Okay, but what if someone were to, I don’t know, come here just a little more often than the other patrons, and over the course of a few weeks, snatch marked cards?” 

“That's crazy talk! I ain't cheatin’!!!” Said the player, almost boiling mad at this point. 

“Then lift up your sleeves for us.” Said Cuphead. “I mean if your innocent and all, shouldn't be too much of a problem then should it?” 

The patron went stiff and began to sweat. 

“Any day now sir…” Cuphead said tauntingly. 

The patron rolled back one sleeve of his coat to reveal a normal, plain old arm. 

“S-see? Nothing there!!” He said nervously. 

“You seem to have misheard me, my good man. I said sleeves. With an s.” 

Not even a moment of silence passed before the patron made a bolt for the exit. 

“Crap!” King Dice exclaimed. 

“I got 'em…” Cuphead said cracking his neck and loosening his joints, as if he’d already done this a million times before.

Before King Dice could say anything, the cup was already hot on the cheater’s tail. 

It wasn't very long before the cup managed to tackle the cheater to the ground. He pinned him down and forced his sleeves up, revealing almost a whole deck of nothing but marked aces strapped to his wrist. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Hey Dice-face, come take a look at this.” Cuphead took the deck off of the cheater's wrist and handed them to the manager. 

“Well I’ll be…” said the die. Taking the cards into his hand, inspecting them in disbelief. Then he leaned down. To the pinned cheater. His eyes turning lime green. Making him appear more intimidating. “Do you have any idea what we do to cheaters like you? This my be the Devil's casino, but we pride ourselves on running a fair and honest business.” 

The manager snapped his fingers and within moments, two demons came on to the scene.   
“Take him away boys….” He said with a malicious smile. 

Cuphead reluctantly let go of the poor fellow to let the security demons do their jobs.

He brushed off his hands and re-adjusted his already rolled up sleeves.

“Well...Thank you Cuphead. Sorry I doubted you. How did you know he was cheating?” Asked the King

Cuphead smiled. “No biggie KD. Just doing what feels right. I couldn’t let that rat get away with money he didn’t even win fairly. And cards up the sleeves? Puh-lease! That’s the oldest trick in the book.”

King Dice rubbed the back of his head. Ever so slightly embarrassed that he didn’t catch that. “Yes...I suppose it is.”

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before Cuphead dismissed himself to get back to his duties on the dining side. King Dice thanked him once more before walking away to reset the table for any new challengers. 

As he was setting up the table, he couldn’t help scold himself for his performance lately. He had almost cost the casino a good portion of its funds twice now! The first time being with Cuphead. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. 

The manager was usually quite good with spotting cheaters and knowing when to call off bets or at least make the odds too risky for the player to want to continue. 

But when he was dealing for Cuphead last night, he had to admit, he was a bit….distracted. To say the least.

When he invited the cup over to his table and started the game, the die couldn’t help but notice how quizzical he looked. It was nothing he hadn’t seen before. Patrons just like this came in every now and then. Looking all smart at the beginning of the game, as if they have some sort of plan or strategy. Only to end up losing bitterly in the end. King Dice thought this would be no different. Just like every other time.

That was until Cuphead started winning. 

And it was when he started winning that he noticed each move and decision he made seemed to be ever so carefully thought out. On top of all this, the cup had an excellent poker face, making him seem very mysterious and all-knowing. 

The cup honestly seemed to know more about the game than anyone he had dealt with before. He even knew a few loopholes. It was kind of amazing to him.

He could have gambled and watched him the whole night. 

Once he had reached his goal of 600 dollars however, Cuphead was quick to dismiss himself. Saying that he had enough money and that it was time for him and his brother to hit the road.

The small crowd that had accumulated around the craps table sighed in disappointment. 

Cuphead chuckled nervously, as if just now realizing the crowd was there. 

King Dice had to admit, he found it quite endearing that he was so preoccupied by the game that he completely tuned out his audience. 

“Oh, come on now, Cuphead. You don’t want to deprive your new fans here of a show now do ya? Maybe you can teach them a thing or two about winning.” King Dice said, hoping an audience would persuade the cup to keep going. And cover up the ugly truth that he just wanted to keep watching him.

Cuphead declined. Saying that he has to get his brother and leave. 

The manager didn’t want Cuphead to leave. The rest of his night would surely be a bore if he allowed such an interesting guest to leave so soon. So he thought of something else.  
“You care about your brother, don’t you?” He asked.  
Cuphead shrugged. “Of course I do! He’s my little brother.” He responded like it was the dumbest question he had been asked all day. 

“Well, why don’t you take look over there.” Said the king, pointing to the casino’s stage, to see none other than his brother dancing up there and seemingly having the time of his life.

“Mugman..?” Cuphead questioned.

“Your brother seems to having a good time. It’d be a shame if you were to ruin it for him…”

“I wouldn’t be ruining it! I got the money! He’ll be happy about that!” 

“Oh sure, but wouldn’t it be better to interrupt his good time with something worthwhile? Say, some bigger winnings?”

“Bigger winnings?” Cuphead questioned.

“Yes! Why spoil his fun for a measly 600 that’s all just gonna end up in the hands of your landlord? When you could spoil him, with more money. Hasn’t your brother been wanting anything, you ever see him look at something in a shop window?”

Cuphead paused….”Well, I suppose he hasn’t had his favorite drink in a while... And he has been looking at stuff in windows. I’d try and buy it for him but he always shuts me down. Saying how he can live without it and I should save the money….” 

“But doesn’t your brother deserve that stuff? It’s a shame you can’t afford it for him…” 

Cuphead was silent as he watched his brother dance. Whatever this King Dice guy was saying, he had a good point. His brother deserved much more than what he had been giving so far. If Cuphead could, he would buy his brother the entire world.

King Dice noticed him thinking, the wheels spinning in his mind. The perfect time to reel him in. “You could, though. If you give these here dice a few more rolls. What will it be?”

Cuphead snatched the dice and gave it his best roll. Instantly landing a seven and earning a cheer from his tiny audience.

“Excellent choice, boy….” 

As the game went on, it took King Dice quite a while to realize exactly how much the cup had been winning. He would be lying if he didn’t say he was rooting for him every round. 

As the night continued, Cuphead’s entire attitude had changed. While he still had his poker face and was thinking out each move carefully, he couldn’t help but notice a little smirk here and there, and the sheer amount of confidence that was practically radiating from him.

It was honestly pretty attractive. The die snapped out his daze however when he noticed that Cuphead’s winnings went beyond a certain number that the Devil had warned him not to let any player win over.

It was at that point that he had to go get the boss to come settle things.

After the boys had landed themselves jobs here, King actually felt kind of bad. The brothers wouldn’t even be in this terrible situation if it hadn’t been for him and his weird and sudden desire to just see Cuphead gamble. To see how far he could push his skills and knowledge. He never really meant for this to happen..

And this morning, when Cuphead had that attitude toward him, King had to admit, it was rather refreshing to see someone not give a shit about who he is. He is a very highly respected and feared figure here. It was nice to have someone talk back to him with a little bit of backbone.

While he was dealing tonight, he found his mind slightly blurred with memories of the Cup from last night. He wasn’t paying much attention to the game, until he realized he had let yet another patron win a bit too much. 

He would have never noticed that the patron was cheating had Cuphead not came by. 

It was a honestly a trill to see Cuphead accuse the patron of cheating without the least bit doubt in his words. 110% confident and not taking any lies for an answer.

And when he chased the cheater down…..King Dice couldn’t lie. It was hot. 

It wasn’t until then that King Dice noticed that the cup was very physically fit. 

The way the rolled up sleeves of his sweater showed off his biceps. The way they flexed as he used his raw strength to hold down the cheater. 

It was….very….manly…

The die put a hand to his head. He could actually feel his face heating up over this. 

Over this freaking cup. 

“Damn it…” The die cursed under his breath. Immediately changing his attitude as more gamblers came by his table.   
***  
After a long night of working, Cuphead and Mugman were finally told that their shifts were over and they could retire for the night. 

When the bothers finally met up in their rooms, back in theri regular attire, they instantly dropped to the floor. Exhausted.

“Hey brother.” Cuphead managed to say.

“Heya bro. Long time no see.” Mugman replied jokingly.

The both chuckled tiredly. They hadn’t really seen each other all day. Save for their short time backstage.

“How was your first day?” Mugman asked.

“Well, it started out kind of regular, then I totally got to tackle a cheater to the ground! It was awesome!” 

“Aww what! No fair! I bet that would have been so cool to see!” Mugman complained.

“Well sorry but you were too busy with your wack-o fans. You know I was the one that had to sweep up all those flowers!”

“Hey! I can’t control them from throwing flowers at me! It’s not my fault they enjoyed the show that much.”

“Uh, bro, you were like, the only one dancing. It is 100% your fault.”

Mugman shoved his brother playfully in the shoulder. “Nuh-uh! Rufus was dancing too ya’know.”

Cuphead laughed. “Relax bro, I’m just messin’ with ya! Anyway, your turn! How was your day?”

Mugman paused. “Well, I’m pretty sure you saw a good chunk of it. With the show going on right in front of you and what not..”

“Yeah. Is that all that happened?” 

“Well….”

Cuphead smiled instantly “I knew it! Did somethin’ juicy happen backstage? Like it does in the pictures?”

“No, it didn’t happen backstage…”

“Well what happened?”

“Well, When I was up there, dancing’ with Rufus, I noticed the Devil. Way in the back.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah and he had this glare on me. It wasn’t a bad glare, I don’t think..”

“Well what other glare could Satan have??”

Mugman rubbed his shoulder. “I don’t know. But it was weird. He left when it was over though. I was so relieved.”

The boys talked some more before their sleepiness began to outweigh their urge to just hang out and talk. They eventually poured out their heads and got into their beds. 

Cuphead was knocked out instantly.

Mugman on the other hand, couldn’t fall asleep quite yet. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Devil, and how he was watching him from the very back of room. 

Just standing there, smoking his cigar and watching him intently. 

Mugman didn’t say anything to his brother in their conversation, but if the Devil had to have another glare of some kind, it was almost unmistakingly hunger.

Maybe it was a stretch but Mugman swore when the Devil was looking at him, he couldn’t see any real anger in his eyes. Just some sort of want.

What made matters more confusing and weird for Mugman is that, when he noticed his boss watching him, he shamelessly started dancing a bit more exotically. Swaying his hips in parts of the number that he wasn’t originally supposed too.

Lying in his bed now, the mug felt an overwhelming sense of regret. Sure the crowd loved it and everyone probably thought he did it just to entertain all the patrons but that wasn’t the truth.

The truth was, Mugman liked it. He liked the Devil’s eyes on him. He liked the way those golden eyes in particular looked at him. It got him excited. In a really weird and twisted way. And he loved it.

He couldn’t explain it. Something about having those eyes on him made him feel very...sexy. Very wanted. And in some way, in control of the way he could make someone feel. Control how he could make the Devil feel. It sent a jolt of risque adrenaline through his veins. Made him feel alive.

Mugman bit his lip at all of the emotions he was currently feeling. He pulled his sheets over his head, trying to hide his face from the world.

In all his days Mugman would have never thought he’d be dirty dancing to try and impress the Devil and get such a sickeningly delightful feeling out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! I hope you liked it! Some DiceCup as promised!
> 
> And SURPRISE!! Mugman's a bit of a freak lol ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Alright, I'll see you guys in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took 30 years to make. I wanted to have it out by new years but I guess uploading this 3 days late is better than nothing right?  
> I may have gotten a little carried away with the dicecup in this but I was just having a lot of fun with them. There's plenty of devilmug in here too though don't worry, i didn't forget. But I'm pretty sure the next chap will be more devilmug.
> 
> okay so, enjoy!

The next morning, the boys got up on their own. 

“Man..I don’t know about you Mugs, but I’m gettin’ pretty sick sleepin’ in my clothes..” Said Cuphead, scratching his side.

Mugman yawned and nodded in agreement. “No kidding. You think we should ask the Devil if we can go get our clothes from our house? I don’t think the landlord threw anything away just yet.”

“I guess we can give it a shot. Maybe you can convince him to let's us do it?” 

Mugman looked at his brother in surprise. “What makes you think I can convince him of anything?”

“Um, bro, so far you've convinced him to let us work for our souls instead of keeping them forever and you got him to give us all-access drinks from the kitchen. I think if anyone can convince him of letting us go get our clothes, it's you.” 

Mugman blushed at his brothers statement. He hadn't really noticed how much he has been able to persuade the Devil. A small sense of pride washed over him. 

“Well, thanks Cuphead. But I don't know if I can convince him of letting us leave the casino…”

“Well I'm sure you can get 'em to agree to something. I know he doesn't expect us to work here in the same clothes everyday.” 

Mugman nodded. “I’ll...see what I can do..”

After they showered and put their clothes back on, the cup brothers made their way to the kitchen to pick out their respective drinks for the day.

Cuphead opting for simple cola and Mugman making a strawberry milkshake with a big red strawberry wedged in the side of his head. 

Cuphead put on his apron and started doing leftover dishes from last night.

“Alright mugs, I’m gonna get some work done. Go ask the boss for our clothes.”

“Wait, you want me to go alone!?” Mugman’s blood ran cold.

“Well, yeah. What’s the point of me being there anyway? Like I said, you’ve been the one persuading him. Not me. Besides, those lazy coworkers left all these dishes for me to do.”

Mugman wanted to argue but he understood that his brother had work to do. So he pushed his personal problems down and walked out of the kitchen with a defeated sigh.

As soon as the kitchen doors shut behind him, the emotions he pushed down just seconds ago decided to rise back up.

It wasn’t until now that the mug realized that he had never been alone with his new boss. The thought of doing so sent a weird shiver up his spine. 

Alone...with his boss…Alone…..with the Devil..

All alone with those same golden eyes that were watching him last night. 

The memory flashed in his mind. The way the Devil was looking at him, the way he started to move once he realized he was being watched, how shameless he felt while he was up there….

Mugman bit his lip as he walked to the Devil’s office, eventually reaching the door.

He knocked lightly.

“What?” The Devil’s voice called gruffley from the other side of the door.

“Um, It’s me, Mugman, sir. Can I come in please?”

***  
The Devil almost choked on his wine at the sound of Mugman’s voice on the other side of his office door.

“Goodness boss? Are you okay?” King Dice asked. A small amount of concern in his voice as he pat the Devil’s back.

“I’m Fine!” The Devil spat. “But um, You should go!” 

“What? But why? I thought you needed my help with this paperwork?” King Dice asked confused. 

“I do! Here just take some with you and come back later!” The Devil handed the die a messy stack paperwork and shoved him away from the desk.

“Boss, what has gotten into you?” King asked, struggling to hold the papers and keep his balance.

“Just get out of here! What good are those powers I gave you if your not gonna use them!?” 

King Dice rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He said, and teleported out of the room via a black hole in the floor that vanished upon his departure. 

The Devil did a sigh of relief only to panic again at the state of his office. Has it always been this messy? Was it this messy when Mugman was in here last?? 

The Devil scrambled to pick up scattered papers and old cigars and the half eaten sandwich on his desk. He stuffed it all into a drawer and then summoned a mirror to take a look at himself. His fur could use a quick brushing...

“Um, Mr. Devil…?” Mugman called. “Is this a bad time?” 

The Devil poofed the mirror out of existence. No time for brushing!

He got behind his desk and sat in his chair. Attempting to make himself look busy and professional. 

“No! Come in!” He said. 

The door cracked open ever so slightly. Mugman peeking his head in before fully coming into the office. 

Satan immediately noticed the big adorable strawberry wedged on the side of the mug’s head. He wanted to openly sigh at how cute his little mug looked right now. But he didn’t.

Instead he tried to cover up the fact that he was internally freaking out about calling Mugman “his little mug” in his head. 

“Sorry to come in so early like this..”

“Trust me, it’s no problem at all. What brings my star employee into my office?” He said.

Mugman blushed at the title “S-star employee!?” 

“Yes of course! You brought in quite a bit of money last night. The crowd loves you.”

“Golly! I didn’t think I had brought in that much already…” 

“I’m not surprised. I knew it was a good idea employing you here. So what can I do for you?”

Mugman twiddled with his fingers and twisted his shoe into the maroon colored carpet. 

“Well, sir, we don’t mean to bother you but, my brother and I were just wondering about….clothes…”

“Clothes?” 

“Yeah. I mean, when we made our deal, we weren't really given a chance to get any clothes from our house and...”

The Devil tuned out Mugman’s voice. Instantly feeling his heart sink at the sudden realization that Mugman and his brother didn’t really have any clean clothes. 

Oh how he would love to give him a roll of cash and send him on an all expenses paid shopping spree to get whatever clothes he desired. But alas, his own stupid rules forbid Mugman from leaving until he made the casino enough money. Even with his permission.

What was an age old malevolent entity to do?

He pondered for a moment, what could he do? He’s the freaking devil himself, there had to be something he could do….

Suddenly, the idea came to him. A sly smirk creeped its way onto his lips.

“Tell me Mugman, what kind of clothes are you looking for specifically?”

“Oh, well, nothing special really. Anything will do.” 

The Devil lit a cigar and sucked in the nicotine before slowly letting a cloud of smoke out through his nose.

“Your lying.” The Devil said.

Mugman internally jumped at the accusation. “Excuse me?”

“Your lying. That can’t be all you want, is it?”

It was at this moment that Mugman began to notice that the Devil’s voice had become much more….alluring, since he initially walked into the office.

“Isn’t there something you’ve absolutely been dying to have for yourself?” 

“I guess….there is... something I’d like to have.” Mugman said, almost longingly. 

The Devil swishes his tail under the mug’s chin, lightly caressing his cheek with his hand. “Well come on now, don’t be shy. There’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish…”

Mugman, pretty much hypnotised at this point, couldn’t help but spill the beans of some of his repressed desires.

***

When Mugman finally walked out of his boss’s office, he made it a short distance away from the door before he couldn’t help but lean against the nearest wall. 

His heart was racing, pounding so hard in his chest he could hear it in his head. His senses were going all wacky. His cheeks were painted a deep blue as he pressed himself against the wall.

He didn’t know what just happened in there but it was so….exhilarating! 

Mugman had never experienced something so intoxicating in all his life. The way the Devil smooth talked his way into making him admit his personal, secret desires for expensive designer shoes and clothes. 

Although he had been caught staring at such things in stores and shop windows, he never really outright told anyone how much he wanted them. He would actually do the opposite. Telling them he didn’t need the fancy and expensive clothes. Especially Cuphead.

He didn’t want to burden his older brother with his silly little wants. Cuphead already did so much for him. Mugman didn’t ever really do that much. 

Sure he worked a job or two along with his brother, but it was always Cuphead who took up extra jobs and even worked overtime. 

Truth be told Mugman didn’t really think he deserved any of the things he wanted. 

But the Devil, for whatever reason, thought the opposite, and Mugman could see that.

Memories of the Devil’s deep, gravelly voice and the way it rumbled soothingly through his head replayed in his mind. He loved how it sent warm shivers up his spine and made his cheeks heat up. 

The longer Mugman thought about the encounter, a tiny fire began to grow in the very pit of his stomach. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy. He never thought the Devil of all people would make him feel this way. 

He found himself with the great desire to kiss his boss. Upon thinking this, he immediately shook the thought out of his head!

What was he thinking!! First his behavior last night and now this!? What was wrong with him?

This is the Devil he was thinking about! Lucifer himself! The King of Hell! He couldn't be falling for him….could he..? 

But the way the Devil touched his face with his tail and hands just then...it made him want to melt! The room temperature wall begining to feel like ice against him.

Mugman began walking towards the dining area and making his way backstage to his dressing room. 

He walked in and Rufus was already in there.

“Mugs? Is that you?” He asked.

“Hey Rufus, whatcha doin’ in here?” Mugman asked.

“I was hoping to find a spare pair of tap shoes in here. No such luck though..” Rufus rose his head from the closet floor to see Mugman's face.

“Whoa, someone's been bitten by the love bug.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Please, it's written all over you. The look in your eyes, the pep in your step and the smile on your face. I'd recognize the look of a smitten heart anywhere.”

Mugman looked in the mirror and noticed that he did have a rather enamoured expression on his face.

“Oh I can’t help it, Rufus, I've fallen hard for someone…” 

“I’ll say, who’s the lucky someone?”

Mugman paused. He couldn’t tell Rufus that he liked their boss! 

“Oh! Uh, it's just a fella who was out in the audience last night!” He answered nervously. 

“Well don’t leave me in the dark, what’s he look like?”

Mugman began to sweat. How was he supposed to describe the Devil without giving it away!?

“Um, y’know, tall, dark and handsome…the works.” He scratched the back of his neck. Mugman didn’t really like lying, but this wasn’t a lie, right? The Devil was tall, much taller than anyone he had met. He was dark, with his lush raven fur, and he was most definitely handsome! One of the most handsome fellas he had ever met... 

Mugman’s heart soared just thinking about the deity. 

“Mugs? Mugman? Mugman!!” Rufus called, snapping Mugman out of his daze. 

“Oh! S-sorry!” Mugs said shyly.

“You got it bad, don’tcha?” Rufus said with a playful smirk on his face. 

Mugman blushed at Rufus’ words. “Oh hush you! C’mon, we got some warming up to do!” He said, as he quickly made his way out of the room, hoping that dancing would take his mind off things...

***  
After Mugman had left the office, the Devil couldn’t help but stare longingly at the door, wishing he could have stayed a little longer.

“Wow. You have it bad, don’t ya, boss?”

The Devil yelped when he noticed King Dice standing off to the side of his office, plopping the papers from earlier down on his desk. 

“DICE!? What are the hell are you doing here!?!?”

“You said take the papers and come back later. Well It’s later and I’m back. I gotta say boss, I’m a little surprised in your taste in men.”

The Devil blushed under his furred face. “I-I don’t know what your talking about!”

King Dice raised a brow at the claim. “Sir, please. I was right outside the door. I heard everything. As to what made you think you could hide something like this from me, I haven’t the slightest idea…” 

The Devil wanted to argue, and opened up his mouth to do so. But ultimately just ended up dropping his head on his desk in defeat with an audible thud.

“I got it bad…” He said, his voice slightly muffled from talking into his desk.

King Dice chuckled . “So bad. I haven’t seen you use your powers for good in….well I’ve never seen you use your powers for good. He’s got you hooked boss.” 

The Devil rolled his eyes. He rose his head and groaned. “I don’t even know why!” He stammered. “I just met the guy!!” 

“Mmhm.”

“I mean all he’s done so far is come into my casino and talk his way out of a permanent contract.”

“Mmhm” 

“Him and his stupid brown eyes! They look like chocolate! Prancing around on stage in his cute outfit! His stupid cute personality and his dumb little drinks in his head!” 

“Mmhmm”

“I mean who does he think he is coming into my office with that cute fucking strawberry on his head and asking for stuff like I’m not gonna give it to him on a silver platter.” 

“He’s just an adorable ball of manipulation..” King Dice responded.

“ISN’T HE!?” The Devil exclaimed. Then he sighed. “But I like him. Alot.”

“You should talk to him.” Said the die.

“Talk to him!? Dice, have you gone mad!? I can’t tell him I like him!” 

“Why not?” The die asked, genuinely confused. 

“Because It would scare the living daylights out of him, that’s why!”

“What makes you say that?”

“Don’t play dumb, Dice, I’m the Devil for crying out loud! Anyone would be scared if they found out I liked them.” 

“I beg to differ sir, I've seen you have guest come in and out of your office all the time. Seeming even happier leaving than when they went in.” 

“That's different Dice! All those guest were just one night stands. The only feeling we shared were lust and greed. But this Mugman, he makes me wanna do more than just have a single night of fun...He makes me wanna share numerous days and nights with him. Getting to know him and everything…” 

King Dice felt a feeling of remorse wash over him as he could see that the Devil's emotions were genuine. 

“Boss I don't think either of those those cups are that scared of you. Heck, both of them were willing to square up against you to protect the other.”

The Devil almost accepted the encouragement, but was instantly hit with another insecurity. 

“Even if he isn't “afraid” of me, who am I kidding!? He’s too good for me, Dice...he’s smart, he’s kind, he’s beautiful he’s the whole package!!” 

“You know, sir, you’ll never know if you have a chance if you don't even try… I mean, exactly how much real distaste has he shown to have towards you? I haven't been paying very close attention but I think it's safe to say Mugman doesn't hate you or anything. I think you stand a chance...Speaking of Mugman, I better go make sure his brother isn’t slacking on the job. Good luck, boss.”

As King Dice left, the Devil thought it over, could he really do it? Is there even the slightest possibility that an angel like Mugman would even give him a chance? Maybe Dice was right. Maybe he’d never find out if he never let the mug know he was interested. Maybe he’ll say something after tonight's show.  
After all, it would be bad to for business if he couldn't focus his moves.  
And he definitely wasn't using that logic as an excuse to stall…

***  
“Cuphead! Mop these floors!”  
“Cuphead! Clean these tables!”  
“Cuphead! These dishes need to sparkle!”  
“Cuphead!” 

“Yes sir!!” Cuphead responded, eager to hurry and finish the next task before King Dice gave him another chore. 

The manager had been barking orders at the cup all morning and well into the afternoon, with barley a moment's rest. He was beyond tired by now. But he was a determined cup, and a little hard labor never hurt anyone. Plus being here and getting his brother wrapped up into his mess is his fault. He might as well suck it up and do his part.

“Cuphead! What are you doing?” Asked the manager..

“You told me to clean the tables sir.” 

“Well how do you expect to clean a table covered in day old dishes?” 

“I don't, sir. There are no dishes on these tables.”

“Are you sure?” Said the King, pointing to a lone table by the dance floor that had a few dishes on it. 

“Gosh! How did I miss that!?” 

“I don't know. But I want those dishes cleaned, stacked, and for all of these tables to be spotless in the next five minutes! Or I'll double your workload.” 

“Yes sir!” Cuphead rushed to get the dishes but in his haste tripped over his own two feet.

King Dice was about to laugh at his failure but he noticed something odd…

“Um, Cuphead…?” 

“I'm okay sir!” Cuphead exclaimed, getting up as fast as he could and grabbing the dishes. “I got it!”

“No, wait, how did you do that?” The King asked.

Cuphead looked at his superior with confusion. “Do what sir?”

“The uh...drink in your head, you fell but it didn’t spill out.”

“Oh...Well it’s kind of hard to explain…”

“Walk and talk boy.” 

The two walked back towards the kitchen doors. Cuphead trying to find a way to explain things.

“It’s kind of like...well...I guess to put it in simplest terms, it’s a kind of magic.”

“Magic?” King Dice questioned. He was no stranger to magic, he was the Devil’s right hand man after all, but he couldn’t help but wonder how a cup-person possessed magic at all. 

“Yeah, basically. It keeps the liquid from spilling out of us. It’s kind of important that it stays in there.”

“Why?”

“Well…Basically the kind of liquid in our heads affects how we act, and if we don’t have anything in our head at all for too long, then we kind of...stop working.”

“You mean you die!?” Asked the Dice. Surprised that the only thing standing between this cup and death was a lack of drink.

“NO! Oh God no! We just sort of start to feel really sick and light-headed and eventually we can’t do much of anything. But we don’t die!” The cup explained. “We can have just about anything in our heads. Even ice cream! Its best if it’s something sweet or full of sugar though. Stuff like water makes us a little moody…”

The two entered the kitchen, Donovan greeted them upon their entry and got right back to slaving over the hot stove. Some would say he was just doing his job but both Cuphead and King Dice could tell he was trying to look extra busy in front of Dice, or risk getting tattled on to the big guy. Cuphead rolled his eyes and put the dishes in the sink and began scrubbing.

“I see..Is that why you were so rude the other morning, you had a different drink then?”

Cuphead blushed. He never did properly apologize to the die. 

“Yeah, we didn’t think the Devil would let us get drinks and we couldn’t go much longer without drinks in our heads after sleeping, so we put in some water. So….sorry about back talking you …”

“Apology accepted.” Said the die. He smiled a little. “Although I have to hand it to you, nobody has had the gall to speak to me like that in a long time.” 

“Ah, Don’t feel special, King. I’m like that to everyone.” Cuphead said with a smile.

King Dice paused, something about the cup’s words struck him.

 _“I’m like that to everyone.”_ The words repeated in his head.

“Hey, Mr.King Dice!” Cuphead called. Snapping the die out of his thoughts. “I said your name like five times already. You hard of hearing or somethin’?” 

“Oh! Sorry. It seems I got lost in my thoughts for a moment there…” Said the King. It was very unlike him to ever do that while on the clock. 

“It’s okay I guess, happens to the best of us.” Cuphead said with a smile. 

The two continued their conversation while in the kitchen. Cuphead washing away at the dishes while King Dice stood next to him chatting away. 

Cuphead found himself becoming more and more engulfed in Dice’s stories. While he was talking, the casino’s manager seemed like a completely different person. He seemed much more open and talkative. Cuphead had to admit, seeing this other side of King Dice made him seem almost...cute. 

Cuphead mentally shook his head. Cute!? Did he really just call the sleazy manager that got him into this dumb mess in the first place cute!?! No way! 

Cuphead looked down into the sink. He had finished the dishes quite some time ago. He had just been washing the same five dishes over and over again. Without even really knowing it…

It was at that moment that Cuphead realized that their might be a small possibility that he was enjoying the dice man’s company. It wasn’t unpleasant after all. 

Cuphead didn’t talk to people much. Anytime Cuphead opened his mouth it was to convince someone to give him something. Not out of selfishness or anything. Anything he ever asked for, it was always for his brother’s. 

Mugman was the one that usually got the jobs for them. He would sweet talk the managers and use his best puppy dog eyes until they were given the jobs. But it was Cuphead who would talk to their bosses afterwards and get himself extra work. 

It was because of this extra work that Cuphead didn’t have any friends or anyone to talk to. Mugman had offered to get extra work too. Insisting that Cuphead doing all this overtime by himself simply wasn’t fair. But Cuphead insisted that he do the work alone. 

Despite being the shy and more soft spoken of the two, Mugman was quite the social butterfly and had many friends all over Inkwell. Cuphead didn’t want him working over time and losing his friends. That would definitely end up putting Mugman into a depression and if there’s one thing Cuphead can’t handle it was a depressed brother. It was coming home to a cheerful, energetic little brother that kept Cuphead from getting too depressed himself. Listening to the day Mugman would have after work and seeing his brother happy made all the overtime he did 100% worth it. 

Talking to King Dice right now, it filled a void in his heart that he didn’t even know was there. This was the first time he had spoken to someone and wasn’t trying to get a raise or get some overtime. He was just talking and listening. It felt nice. 

It got to a point where Cuphead started to slip a few jokes in here and there that related to Dice’s stories one way or another. Cuphead found himself immensely enjoying the laughs he would pull out of the man. In fact, King Dice’s laughs were probably one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. It was a rather rambunctious laugh, one Cuphead wouldn’t expect from the seemingly uptight and strict manager. And it sounded so genuinely happy that hearing it made Cuphead laugh more than the joke he told.

It was nice. 

This was nice…

King Dice...was nice..

 

It wasn’t until they heard a loud bang of a skillet dropping to the floor and a loud FWOOSH of flames coming from the oven that they turned around to see that the other side of the kitchen was nearly engulfed in flames in less than a second. 

It seemed that Donavan, in his haste to make himself seem more busy than he even needed to be, somehow had managed to set the kitchen on fire.

King Dice ordered the demon to go get help while he and Cuphead tried to douse the flames.

Donovan ran out of the room while Dice grabbed some buckets from under the sink and was about to throw Cuphead’s dish water onto the fire. But Cuphead stopped him dead in his tracks. 

“Cuphead! What the hell are you doing?? We have to put the fire out!!”

“Wait a second, Dice! That’s an electric oven! You can’t put water on an electric fire! It will only make it worse!” Cuphead exclaimed. “We have to use a fire extinguisher. Is there one in here?”

“Yes I believe it’s over there…” Dice pointed to a fire extinguisher that was on the other side of the kitchen. On the other side of the flames.

“Oh sweet tea cups..” Cuphead said be grudgingly. “How are supposed to get over there??”

“Hmm...I could teleport but then that would mean I would end up standing right in the fire…”

“Normally I’d shoot my way out of a situation but I don’t think any of my shooters can defend against straight up fire..”

The two stood in the hot kitchen trying to think of something to do. 

Then, Cuphead heard something creaking above them. He looked up to see a large and seemingly heavy piece of the ceiling about to crush them. About to crush Dice!

Before Cuphead could push King Dice out of the way, the piece of ceiling began to fall. He had to act fast! 

“Dice, watch out!” He yelped as he jumped in front of the die and as if it were instinct, used his green chaser shot’s special ability to defend against the debris. The ceiling piece shattered upon contact with the four green stars rapidly swirling around Cuphead and by extension, King Dice. 

Dice opened his eyes, he was bracing himself to the painful impact of the debris but when nothing happened he became confused. Did Cuphead take the hit for him!?

When he opened his eyes however, it was quite the opposite. Cuphead standing above him, his arms held out in front of him and breathing heavily from the smoke that was beginning to collect in the room. Four green stars were flying around them in quick circles. This was yet again another moment where he found himself in awe of Cuphead’s bravery. No one has ever really protected him before. Granted, now he was almost as powerful as the Devil himself and could more than defend himself, but when he was younger, he would often find himself in danger and no one willing to help him.

“Cuphead? What are you doing??” He asked, confused by the magic being used. It was amazing. 

“I'm protecting your ass, what's it look like I'm doin’!? Listen, I just got an idea on how to get the fire extinguisher, sit tight okay?”

King Dice nodded, it was all he could do in the situation really. Talking back to him was one thing, but actually telling him what to do was another. And when Cuphead told him to “sit tight” just now, in a stern and almost protective tone, it made the die blush just a tad…

He watched as Cuphead, like a mad man who knew what he was doing, walked through the flames to get the fire extinguisher. 

The green stars surrounding him caused the fire to part like the red sea as he walked by with each step. Eventually he reached the extinguisher and wasted no time pushing the handle down and putting out all of the fire. 

The two stood in the now burnt up kitchen covered in white fluffy stuff. 

They gave each other a look. No words were exchanged for the next second or so, just them looking into each other's eyes amazed that they had survived a brush with death like that. 

Their staring contest was cut short however when a group and demons, along with Donovan, showed up and tossed multiple buckets of water on them by accident, realizing too late that the fire had already been put out. The demons immediately regretted their decision upon realizing that they just covered their bosses second in command in water for almost no reason. 

“Aw Chrimeny sir! Please don't be mad!” One of the demons pleaded. 

“Yeah we was just trying to help is all!!” 

“Please don't tell the boss! We're sorry!! Honest we are!!” 

There was a brief pause before King Dice began to laugh. Quite loudly actually. 

Cuphead began to laugh as well, the die’s beautiful laugh contagious to him. The demons began to laugh as well, although it was quite obvious that they were just laughing because their manager was laughing. Not because they knew what was even funny or because they found the laugh as endearing as Cuphead did.

King Dice wiped a tear from his eye as his laughing finally began to subside.

“Listen boys, I'm not gonna tell on you. It was an honest and kind of funny mistake. Just do me a favor and have this place cleaned up before opening time alright? I'm gonna go change into some dry clothes. Cuphead, I suggest you do the same.”

“Oh, yeah, good point Dice.” Cuphead responded, tugging at the collar of his black sweater. He was soaked. 

The demons, ever so grateful for their manager’s mercy, nodded their heads and began cleaning the kitchen as fast as possible. 

King Dice and Cuphead chuckled before leaving the room together.

“Boy, what a day huh, Dice? You okay?” Cuphead asked. 

King Dice blushed ever so slightly at the question. This cup not only wasn't afraid of talking back to him or telling him what to do, but also cared enough to ask of his well being. What a guy..

“Yes. I'm fine, thank you for asking….and thank you for saving my life back there..” 

Cuphead found his own cheeks heating up at how adorable Dice could be when he wasn't being a stuck up, sleazy manager. The genuine gratitude coming from the man was enough to make the cup’s heart skip a beat. 

“Um, yeah no biggy. Just doin’ what I think is right.” 

The two eventually parted ways, going to their rooms to change out of their wet clothes. 

Well King Dice was going to change, Cuphead planned on just wringing his clothes out in the sink and drying them with a fan for a little while, as he still didn't have clothes as far as he knew.

But it was a pleasant surprise when he opened the door to see several sets of clothes neatly placed on his bed. Mostly consisting of dark sweaters and red pants, the kind of stuff he usually wore. 

Looks like Mugs was able to come through. Just in the nick of time too. 

After Cuphead had dried off and changed is clothes, he proceeded to put them away in the closet before going back to work. 

Mugman suddenly came bursting through the door, a worried expression on his face.

“CUPHEAD!!! YOU'RE ALIVE!!!” He cried, throwing himself at his brother and giving him a tight hug. 

“M-mugs!? What gives?” 

“I heard about the fire! I’m sorry I wasn’t there, I-I was just backstage and, and I just didn’t hear anything but when I came back out I saw the kitchen was burned up and when I asked one of the demons what happened he said that there had been a fire and you were in it and and and are you okay!?!?” Mugman began inspecting his older brother for any injuries. When he failed to find even a scratch he let out a sigh of relief  
“Your okay..” Mugman said holding a hand over his racing, worried heart. 

“Of course I am! I could have told you that.”

“Well what the heck happened in there!?”

“I don’t know! I was just talking to that dice-head and before we knew it, Donovan started a fire behind us. He went to get help, but I was able to put the fire out before they came back.”

“Oh, is King Dice okay?”

Cuphead hesitated at the question for a moment, memories of how terrified he was for the die’s safety flashed freshly in his mind. He can’t remember ever caring for someone’s safety so much. Sure Cuphead would have saved anyone regardless, like he said, he was just doing what he knew was right, but if he were to fail...he’d probably never forgive himself. After hearing the die’s laugh and seeing some of his true colors, Cuphead found himself wanting to see more of that out of the die, and the thought of not being able to enjoy King Dice’s company put a terrible feeling in his stomach. 

“Cuphead..?” 

With Mugman’s voice snapping him out of his thoughts, Cuphead forced out a response to his little brother. 

“Oh! Yeah, he’s fine..”He put away another set of clothes. “I see you were able to convince the big guy to give us some clothes.” Said the cup, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, yeah! Are they good?” Mugman asked, hoping the clothes were too his brother’s liking.

“Their fine Mugs. Thanks. But these are all in my size. Didn’t you get anything for yourself?”

Mugman felt his face heat up at the question. Memories of being hypnotised by the Devil going through his head.

“Um, Oh! Would you look at the time! Casinos opening soon, I better go get ready for tonight’s show. See ya!” Mugman said. He was glad his brother was okay and satisfied with his clothes but he was positive that if he stayed he’d spill the beans of his recent feelings for the literal devil. He rushed out of the room before Cuphead could say anything else. 

***  
“What do you mean you won’t have it fixed until tomorrow!?” King Dice exclaimed angrily at the repairmen demons. 

“Sorry sir! Byt that fire really did a number on the oven’s circuitry! It will take us while to get it fixed. If you want it done by tonight, I’d say you’d need a miracle.” 

“I have an entire casino full of hungry patrons out their who have already ordered hot meals and you are telling me you can’t fix this oven!?”

The demon shrugged nervously and immediately dug his head back into the oven, hoping that if he seemed busy the manager would leave him alone. 

Suddenly Cuphead came into the kitchen, his apron covered in drinks that had been thrown at him from angry patrons. He slammed the door behind him. 

“Their gettin’ restless out there, Dice! That’s the 5th drink tonight!” He said, taking off his smelly, wet apron and throwing it on the ground. “We any closer to having that oven fixed?”

“Fraid not. They said they can’t have it fixed until tomorrow.” King Dice answered.

Cuphead got himself a clean apron from the broom closet. “WHAT!? You mean I have to go through this all night!? It’s like a pack of wild hyenas out there! There has to be something we can do..” Cuphead exclaimed.

***

Mugman and Rufus were peaking their heads from behind the curtains. 

“Quite a crowd we got tonight, eh Mugs?” Said Rufus.

“You said it.” Mugman said. The crowd seemed very upset. He heard his brother trying to reason with the tipsy patrons, telling them that the oven was broken. But they just yelled more offensive language and threw their drink on his brother. 

Mugman wanted to walk right up to them and defend his brother. Give those rotten patrons a piece of his mind. But he knew Cuphead probably didn't want him involved. 

There has to be a way to calm down this crowd, they were out of control!

If only there was something he could do….

Then an idea hit him. 

“Hey, Rufus, does this place have a piano?” Mugman asked. 

Rufus gave his friend a funny look. “Uh yeah sure. Mugs, I don't think slow dancin’ to classical tunes is gonna calm this crowd down..” 

“I know that, silly. I got something completely different in mind. Got nothing to do with dancing and it's guaranteed to calm this audience right down.” 

“What are you goin’ on about?” Rufus asked. 

“I’ll explain in a little bit, I gotta go get my brother if this is gonna work out.” Said Mugman, as he went down the stage's stairs and made his way around the perimeter of the rowdy crowd. 

Mugman came into the kitchen, where he spotted his brother trying to help some demons repair the oven. 

“Cuphead! C’mon, I need your help!” Mugman said, grabbing his brother's shoulder. 

“Can't it wait Mugs, I'm trying to help these guys with the oven.”

“But Cuphead, I’ve got an idea to help calm down those nasty patrons. I need your help though.” 

“Fer what??”

Mugman whispered to his brother his intentions, Cuphead’s expression changing to that of one of surprise.

“Mugs, you sure we need to that?”

“It’s either that or you go back out there and tell them for the fifth time tonight that they aren’t getting any hot food.”

“But Cala said it’s only for emergencies..”

Mugman raised an eyebrow. “Cuphead, you look out there and tell me this isn’t an emergency.”

Without even needing to look, they heard another glass shatter on the floor and the angry bickering of the patrons getting louder and angrier. 

“Okay fine! What do you need me for?”

“I’ll explain backstage, just come on already.” 

Cuphead rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay! Dice, I’ll be back, the uh, entertainment needs my help.”

King Dice simply waved his hand, silently giving the cup brothers his permission to leave.

***  
The Devil sat in his office, trying to get some work done, counting money and signing papers. All that racket out there was driving him mad. It seemed like every ten minutes it got worse and worse. Dice had told he would get the rowdy patrons under control but it seemed that his good fer nothin’ lackey was just that, good fer nothin’!

 

That’s it, he had had enough! If anyone could make these idiots shut up it was him. I mean who in their right mind was gonna talk back to him, he was the actual Devil.

He opened the door, visibly angry, multiple limbs protruding from his body and extra eyes scattered all over his face. His teeth sharper and his overall demeanor much scarier than his typical default form. 

He was about to go out there and terrify everyone into silence. But he stopped dead in his tracks. His form slowly returning back to its original state when he heard a voice so sweet and clear that he could have sworn he was back in heaven….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took 30 years to make. I wanted to have it out by new years but I guess uploading this 3 days late is better than nothing right?  
> I may have gotten a little carried away with the dicecup in this but I was just having a lot of fun with them. There's plenty of devilmug in here too though don't worry, i didn't forget. But I'm pretty sure the next chap will be more devilmug.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, enjoy!!!

_ “You had plenty money nineteen twenty-two…” _

 

The voice rang as clear as a bell through out the casino.

 

_ “You let other women make a fool of you, why don’t you do right? Like some other men do..” _

 

The customers stopped yelling and froze in place. 

 

_ “Get out of here, get me some money too..”  _

 

Everyone turned their attention towards the stage.

 

On said stage, stood Mugman in one of the more interesting outfits the used dressing room had to offer.  He was wearing a black, tailcoat tuxedo-leotard with a baby blue bow tie and a small, black heart on his chest. The underside of the tail of his tailcoat is the same shade of baby blue as his bow tie. On his arms, he wore white gloves that extended to his elbows. And around his abdomen  was a large white belt with a sizable silver buckle. He was also wearing baby blue ankle boots.

He was still sporting the large strawberry wedged in the rim of his head, it gave the whole ensemble a nice pop. And in his head, vanilla ice-cream.

 

_ “You're sitting down wondering what it's all about. You ain't got no money, they will put you out. Why don't you do right, like some other men do?” _

 

Mugman sang his serenade, accompanied by piano music being played beautifully by none other than his brother.

 

_ “Get out of here and get me some money too..” _

 

The crowd, as drunk and upset as they were, found themselves calmed down. Absolutely mesmerized by the sweet, angelic voice.

_ “If you had prepared 20 years ago, you wouldn't be a-wanderin' out from door to door _

_ Why don't you do right..” _

 

Mugman began walking across the stage slowly, the way his porcelain gray legs carried him earned him a whistle from the crowd.

 

_ “... like some other men do..” _

 

He winked playfully and made his way down the stage’s stairs and began interacting with the audience himself. He held out his hand and didn’t have to wait long for a young gentleman to take hold of the offering. Mugs led him back to his seat and sat on his lap, tugging on the man’s tie. 

 

_ “Get out of here, get me some money too..” _

When the man dove in for a kiss, Mugman teasingly pulled his hat over his face before getting up and moving on to the next patron. 

 

The Devil literally could not believe his eyes. He knew he had something special when he decided to put Mugman in charge of entertainment, but he didn’t expect this. 

 

This mug had the whole casino twisted around his little finger like a spoiled kid had his parents. It was amazing to watch someone who, earlier that day he had to hypnotise into telling him what he really wanted, do the same thing to over a hundred people at once, just to calm them down.

 

_ “Like some other men do…..” _

 

Of course, the slight change in performance didn’t stop Mugman from his usual dancing.

Except this time, the dancing was much more...  _ eccentric _ ..

 

The Devil thought to himself. Had Mugman been given a pole, this could be a completely different kind of casino…

 

He shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his mind. He had it bad for this dish.

 

He still wasn’t entirely sure why either… he hasn’t had feelings like this since….

 

_ “Why don't you do right….like some other men…” _

 

The Devil snapped himself out of his thoughts to see Mugman was standing right in front of him, looking at him with those Hershey brown eyes.

 

Mugs gently tugged on the Devil’s chest fur, pulling the demon overlord down to his level. 

 

He got really close to his face, almost close enough to kiss. It was there, in that moment that the Devil remembered when he had felt these feelings before... 

 

Before their faces could get any closer, Mugman smiled playfully and kissed two of his fingers, and lightly tapped  them on the Devil’s cheek before letting the final note of the song roll off his tongue.

 

_ “..Dooooooooooooo..”  _

 

The note was held for quite a while. Right until the very last key of the piano was played. 

 

The crowd was silent for all but a moment before they began to cheer loudly, hollering and whistling at their performer.

 

Mugman simply put on a smile and winked at the crowd before disappearing backstage..

 

***

“Wowzers! That was amazing, Mugs! How come you didn't tell me you could sing!? Where did you even learn to sing like that?” Rufus asked, coming into the dressing room shortly after Mugman. 

 

“We're friends with this sea siren named Cala Maria. She gave me singing lessons a while back. Only thing is, her lessons sort of changed my voice. Now everytime I sing I end up manipulating whoever hears me. Cala said that I should probably only use my voice for emergencies or when I know I'm completely alone.” Mugman answered.

 

“Man, you ain’t kiddin’! I've never seen a crowd of drunks so tamed in all my years here!” Rufus said, truly amazed at the amount of talent this mug was hiding.  

 

“Heh, thanks Rufus. Hey, where did Cuphead go? ” Mugs asked.

 

“Oh, He went back to work. Miraculously after you mellowed out the crowd they managed to fix the oven.”

 

“Well that’s good. I’m glad I could help.” Mugman said, taking off his footwear. 

 

“Speaking of the crowd being calm, I’ve never seen the boss quite that calm either…”

 

Mugman flinched. Suddenly he remembered what he did out there. The Devil was so close to his face.. he could feel his breath tickle his nose, it smelled like cigars and berries...and Mugs loved it. 

 

Mugman knew he would have totally kissed him too, if it wasn’t for his love of being a tease. 

He didn’t know what got over him, it was like everytime he got on stage he was a completely different guy! 

 

“You know Mugs, If i didn’t know any better, I’d say the boss likes you..”

 

Mugman’s cheeks turned blue at the statement.

 

“Wh-what are you talking about, Rufus..”

 

“And, call it a hunch, but I’d say you have a crush on the boss too..”

 

Mugman’s whole body went deathly cold at the accusation. If Rufus figured it out, who was to say that the rest of the casino didn’t? Cala’s songs were designed to distract people and make them pay attention to her. That means when Mugman was singing...all eyes were on him more or less...everyone probably saw that whole fiasco!

 

Mugs fell to his knees. 

 

“Mugs! Are you okay!?” Rufus asked, concerned for his friend. He turned Mugman over to see him doing his over-dramatic hand over his forehead thing. At that moment, Rufus lost all serious concern.

 

“Rufus! What am I going to do!? Everyone probably saw! Kill me now! I’m going to die of embarrassment if I go on!”

 

Rufus rolled his eyes.

 

“Mugs, get up..”

 

Mugs remained on the floor. “But Rufuuuus….” He whined.  “The weight of embarrassment is too much to bare…”

 

“Would you quit your whining! You ain’t got nothing to be embarrassed about. Like I said: the boss probably-”

 

Suddenly the young performer shot up straight. His eyes growing to the size of dinner plates and his pupils dialated to the size of pinpricks.

 

Here he was worried about who saw him and he didn’t even consider what the person he did it to thought of it! He lied on the floor,

 

Rufus sighed and rolled his eyes again. “As I was saying: I think the boss probably likes you.”

 

“Have you lost your mind!? Why in the world would the king of hell possibly have the hots for the likes of a little mug like me!?”

 

Rufus smirked. “Why don’t you look in the closet.” 

 

“Rufus are you seriously bringing up clothes at a time like this?”

 

“Just look!” 

 

Mugman groaned and got up, stampering over to the large walk-in closet of the dressing room, expecting the same old musty clothes that were always there.

 

But when he looked inside, he was astonished at the sight before him.

 

There in the closet, it was lined all along the walls with the latest fashions and designs. Many of the same outfits Mugman had seen in shop windows were now in this very closet. He walked in, gently feeling the fabrics with his gloved hands. Even with his gloves on he could tell the fabric was soft and silky. And just from looking at all this stuff he could tell it was all expensive…

 

“Rufus...what is all this.” 

 

“It's a gift from the boss. I told ya he likes you. He dropped those off while you were checking on your brother earlier. I had to hang them all up though. So, your welcome.”

 

Mugman looked down, and saw several pairs of designer shoes.  

 

That’s it, he couldn’t hold back any longer…

 

“Excuse me for a minute, Rufus.”

 

Rufus shot Mugman a confused look before the mug shut himself in the closet. 

 

***

Meanwhile back in the dining area, things were getting busy since the oven had been fixed. 

 

Cuphead came through the door, holding a stack of dishes in one hand and a fist full of order tickets  in the other. He put the tickets down in the order window and yelled out what the papers said.

 

“Salsberry steak and gravy for table seven and medium rare tenderloin for table nine!”

 

“Got it!” Said Donovan. He began cooking as fast as he could while Cuphead dropped the dishes in the sink and began scrubbing them quickly.

 

“Cuphead, you should get back out there, I’ll get someone else to do the dishes.” Donovan said.

 

“Its okay, Dice is out there helping me.” 

 

Donovan dropped the ladle he was using to stir the soup. 

 

“Geez, Donny! Get your head in the game! Will ya!?” Cuphead yelped in annoyance, the sound of the utensil hitting the ground making him jump in surprise.

 

Suddenly, King Dice came to the  oder window, leaving a few tickets behind.

 

“Order up Donovan, their coming in fast. People are ordering from the gambling side too, Cuphead can you come back out soon?”

 

“Sure thing, Dice!” Cuphead called back. Hurrying to finish the dishes. 

 

There was silence in the kitchen. Aside from Cuphead’s scrubbing and the commotion going on outside.

 

“So Cups….you and King Dice, huh?”

 

Cuphead gave Donovan an awkward look before going back to the dishes without making eye contact. “What do you mean?” 

 

“I mean um…” Donovan thought for a split second of how to respond, the chef  wasn’t much of a conversationalist. But he was very curious about the relationship between his supervisor and his new co-worker. And the only way to get any answers was to ask.

 

“So, what happened in the fire? With you and King Dice. Like, did something happen in the fire between you and King Dice? Just curious….” 

 

Cuphead thought that was a weird question, but maybe the demon was just curious about how they survived. He did start the fire in the first place. He probably felt responsible and wanted reassurance of his and Dice’s well being.

 

“Well, nothing really. We were trying to get to the fire extinguisher. When some debris was about to hit Dice, I used my chaser shot’s special ability to save him and get the extinguisher. And that’s about it…”

 

“Huh...well that explains a lot…” Donovan said.

 

The response made Cuphead stop washing momentarily. “What exactly does it explain?”

 

“Well, just the whole thing with him helping you out and you calling him nicknames, I was wondering why he was letting you do that but now it’s clear that he’s only doing it because you saved his life.”

 

Cuphead paused for a moment, was it true? Was King Dice really only helping him because he saved his life, he felt obligated?

 

Cuphead couldn't quite  explain it, but the thought of King Dice being nice and helping him out just because he felt obligated to made Cuphead’s heart sink to his stomach. 

 

“Yo, Cups, you okay there?”  Donovan asked. Cuphead snapped out of his thoughts to realize he had stopped scrubbing entirely and was now tightly gripping the edge of the sink. 

 

“I-I’m fine, Don….” 

 

King Dice’s voice could be heard from the other side of the order window again. 

 

“Cuphead! You done in there yet?” 

 

“Coming Dice!”  Cuphead called. “I’ll finish the dishes later, Donny.” He left, making sure he had his notepad and a tray-full of finished orders before heading out. 

 

When he got out there, it was abundantly clear that King Dice wasn't kidding when he asked Cuphead for extra help. 

 

“There you are, I was wondering when you’d get out here. All of that goes to table fifthteen. Thanks Cuphead.” He said with a smile before heading over to another table and taking their order. 

 

Cuphead couldn't help but smile back in response. The cheerful grin was contagious. But Cuphead started to wonder.

 

Was the smile even real? 

 

***

There they stood, Mugman was out of the closet, wearing black and white horizontally striped socks and black shoes, as well as black shorts and a tan long sleeved button down shirt with blue buttons, a white collar outlined in blue stitching.   

 

The Devil stood in front of him, eyes locked on Mug’s well put together outfit. He looked amazing. 

 

There was silence between the two, Rufus stood there awkwardly before finally deciding he should take his leave. 

 

“I’ll just...yeah.” Rufus said, before leaving and shutting the door.

 

It wasn’t until they heard the door shut that the silence started to feel awkward. 

 

“So...do you like you new clothes?”  The Devil asked. 

 

Mugman smiled a bit. “Oh absolutely! There more amazing than I’ve ever dreamed of….thank you! T-they must have cost a fortune! ” He said, getting nervous towards the end, realizing how much this all must have cost. He felt guilty for even allowing the devil to spend so much of his earnings on him. 

 

Suddenly, the Devil had him by the shoulders, forcing Mugman to look him in the eyes and lifting him off the ground slightly.

 

“No, No! I got them for you!” He said. “Money wasn’t an issue!” 

 

“Okay then..”  Mugs replied. 

 

The Devil soon noticed what he was doing and felt his cheeks heat up. “S-sorry…I got a bit carried away..”

 

He put Mugman back on the ground. Neither of them knew this about the other, but both parties secretly missed the small, physical contact they just shared.

 

“Listen Mugman….there’s something I want to tell you…” 

 

“Ever since I first met you, I felt something from you...It was familiar yet completely foreign and different at the same time..I couldn’t quite explain it until tonight but…”

 

The Devil gently grasped Mugman’s gloved hand, making the mug a bit flustered.

 

“Mugman...I think you’re my soulmate.”

 

Mugman suddenly felt his whole face heat up.

 

“I’m sorry...What?”  He managed to ask. 

 

“Oh Sorry! Did I overwhelm you!? I-I should have explained better! Um…” The Devil began scratching his head and without realizing it, he began squeezing Mugman’s hand.

 

Mugman of course noticed this. It seemed as though the Devil was squeezing the hand out of worry, like he didn’t want him to go. Like he needed someone right now. Like hel needed Mugman..

 

For whatever reason, Mugman was positive that’s what was happening right now. He also felt an overwhelming desire to squeeze the Devil’s hand back reassuringly. 

 

So he did.

 

“Its okay..” Mugman said, in a sweet and comforting voice.

The Devil looked down at Mugman who was sporting the purest, warmest smile the Devil had seen in years. 

 

“Just say what’s on your mind.” 

 

The Devil couldn’t believe his ears. He had so much on his mind. His past, how much he loved Mugman, and what Mugman was doing right now! He couldn’t find a way to put all his emotions and thoughts into words. Infact, mere words weren’t nearly enough to express everything happening in his head right now…

 

Before either of them knew it, Devil had his lips pressed against Mugman’s.

 

The Devil’s kiss was forceful and firm yet gentle and cautious.

 

The kiss lasted a good long minute before Devil pulled away. He stared at Mugman. Waiting for some kind of reaction.

 

Mugman just stood there, looking at the Devil with a surprised and dazed look in his eyes. His cheeks as blue as the ocean and his ice-cream beginning to melt for the first time since the Devil walked in the room. 

 

“Golly…” Mugman said.

 

Now a million more thoughts were going through Devil’s head. Did he mess this up?? Did he ruin his chances?? Could he fix this giant mistake??

  
  


Of course, all his worries were put to rest when Mugman ever so gently pulled him down to his level and lightly kissed him back.

 

It was a short kiss, lasting only but a moment, but both participants could agree that there was some sort of spark there. 

 

Wanting to feel the spark again, they shared another quick kiss. The feeling causing them to smile and kiss a few more times, each kiss getting a little longer and a little more hungrier than the last. 

 

“Wait...wait...wait. ..” Mugman panted before the next amazing kiss could happen.

 

“What is it! Did..did I do something wrong!?” The Devil asked, concerned he had messed up somehow.

 

“No! No, not at all!” Mugman exclaimed. The flush on his cheeks turning a deeper color. “You're amazing…” 

 

The Devil once again was ever so thankful for his fur’s ability to hide the blushing on his cheeks as he tried his damnedest to keep a straight face as Mugman continued talking. 

 

“It's just that...I have a question..You said you think I'm your soulmate. Not that I haven't heard the term before but the way you said it to me made it sound like it means something more in your case…” 

 

“Oh... Well,  it's kind of complicated to explain..but basically, everyone has a soulmate thanks to dear old Dad up there.” 

 

“You mean….God?” 

 

The Devil could feel the coldest shiver run up his spine from hearing the name. 

 

“Yeah, him..”  Devil shook off the feeling and continued explaining. “He made sure that everyone in the world had a soulmate….even me. Apparently.”

 

Mugman was quiet for a moment. It was quite a bit to take in. Here he was, working at the Devil’s Casino as a performer to pay off a debt, only to find out that not only did the Devil and himself share feelings for one another, but they were hand picked by God to be soulmates.

 

“Mugman?” Devil asked.

 

“Oh! Sorry!” Mugman said, snapping himself out of his thoughts. “I was just..”

 

“Hey, it’s okay. I get it. It's a lot to take in. Its fine you need time to think-”

 

“No!” Mugman shouted, stopping the Devil mid sentence. After realizing he had yelled at his new soulmate he apologized.

 

“I don’t...For some reason, I don’t wanna think it over. I don’t even feel any need to! For some reason every moment we've shared, this one especially, feels….right and well…. natural…”

 

The room fell silent after Mugman spoke his mind. The Devil, overall stunned by his words, didn’t really know how to respond. 

 

Mugman held out his hand, hoping the Devil would accept it.  “I wanna give this a shot..”

 

There was more stunned silence from the Devil..

 

“Devil-”

 

Mugman was interrupted by the Devil suddenly wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace.

 

Mugman, while surprised at first, hugged back.

 

They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s embrace… 

 

Then simultaneously, they spoke.

 

“I love you.”

 

Both pulled back from the hug to stare at each other.

 

Devil couldn’t even believe what was happening right now, it seems that his dad finally was showing him a little grace after all this time…it was nice...  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had writer's block, cut me some slack! 
> 
> So as you can see, i was heavily inspired by Jessica Rabbit's performance in this chapter. So that was fun.
> 
> also THAT MAKE OUT SESSION WAS FUN TO WRITE like omfg.
> 
> Also, i recived a comment saying that mugs and devil were falling in love too fast but they thought it was intentional.
> 
> Well, commenter, you were right! They fell in love so fast because they were soulmates this whole time. I guess I'll go into more depth about that in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, oh no!! Cuphead thinks Dice is faking it!!! What's gonna happen there!?!?
> 
> Tune in next time for CHAPTER 6!!!
> 
> Also you guys don't have to worry about this story stopping in the middle of everything, i know how it feels to have someone write a cool fanfiction for something you like and then just leave it unfinished for years. Like seriously, there are some fics out there that stopped updating in like 2013 that im still upset about lol. 
> 
> But yeah, i know how that feels i would never do it to all of you! 
> 
> Chapter 6 is on the way, that's a promise! ((but sorry if it takes another month, i managed to write this but i still have writer's block))
> 
> Toodles for now!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am....SO sorry that this took so long. I really didn't mean for it to take this long. I had writer's block on top of a bunch of things/drama going on in my life and....I'm just sorry. But hey! I said i wouldn't abandon this fic and I didn't! So maybe I can have points for that...
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And thank you for all the patience and support! 
> 
> P.S. I think the next chapter is gonna take place a few months in the future. So we can really get into the plot of this fic.
> 
> Also i tried to proof read this but i was so tired that I don't think i did a very good job, so please excuse any misspellings i guess....

“So is that why we fell for one another so fast? Because we're soulmates?” Mugman asked.

 

Devil scratched the back of his head nervously. “Yeah..pretty much..” He said. “I know this all might sound ridiculous at the moment, but some soulmates fall in love faster than others.” 

 

The two were now sitting semi-comfortably in Mugman’s dressing room. Sometime had passed since their confessions and it was coming close to Mugman’s next performance, but the two had plenty of time to kill. Why not spend it getting to know each other a little more.

 

“Hey, Dev?..”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You said the feelings you felt  for me felt familiar somehow….how do you mean.?”

 

The Devil looked to the left. “It’s nothing. I don’t really wanna talk about it..”

 

“Have you ever talked about it?”

 

“No...not since it happened..”

 

“Well, I think you should. And who better to talk to about it than me, right? I won’t tell anyone.”

 

The Devil smiled. “I suppose...but it wouldn’t matter if you told anyone. All the employees were there when it happened…”

 

“When what happened?”

 

“It happened a long time ago….” The Devil began.

 

_ *flashback* _

_ The Casino, over fifty years ago. It was as lively as ever, perhaps even more than usual, thanks to a lovely little blonde lady who decided to take the stage for herself. _

 

_ She was doing stand up comedy, lightly making fun of the casino’s patrons and a few funny stories from her childhood. Both the crowd and the employees were laughing their heads off.  _

 

_ The Devil noticed that not much work was getting done so he came out of his office to investigate. But he too eventually found himself laughing at the dame’s jokes.  _

 

_ In the span of half an hour she went from simply telling the funny stories to acting them out very well, despite her lack in props and/or co-actors. _

 

_ The Devil found it quite charming to say the least. _

 

_ About once or twice a week the blonde lady would show up again and take the stage and wow the crowd.  _

 

_ The Devil found himself completely enamored by her. She was so silly and charming, and not to mention, quite the cutie. _

 

_ It wasn’t until the Devil heard some of his patrons talking amongst themselves that he got an idea.. _

 

_ “Man, I hope that hilarious dame comes again tonight. What was her name again?” _

 

_ “I forget! But isn’t she a great actress!!”  _

 

_ “Yeah!” _

 

_ It was then that the Devil decided to do what he did. _

 

_ When the woman finished her latest stand up/ act, the Devil stopped her before she could leave. _

 

_ “Hey there little lady.” He said, in a low voice. _

 

_ “Oh my goodness!! Your! Your!-” The little blonde lady stammered. _

 

_ “That’s right the Devil himself and proud owner of this here casino. Pleasure to meet you.” _

 

_ “Charmed….”  _

 

_ “What’s your name doll-face?” _

 

_ “Sally. Sally Stageplay.” _

 

_ “Well Sally, I have an offer for you.” _

  
  


“I told her that I thought we were soulmates because of how I felt for her. When she agreed as fast as she did, I thought I was right. So I gave her everything she desired. A dressing room, costumes, and I even got some more demons to act alongside her…”

 

The Devil began to look sad.

 

“Then one night, when the casino was closing up, I was looking for her. I was going to treat Sally to a surprise but before I could even get to her room I saw her leaving with another man, and carrying sack-fulls of the casino’s earnings.”

 

_ “Sally!? What are you doing!?” The Devil asked in shock. _

 

_ “Oh, Devil, sweetie. Thank you ever so much for your help, I couldn’t have gotten my start without ya sugar booger!”  _

 

_ “What... do you mean?” _

 

_ “Oh that’s right, you're too much of gullible idiot to catch on.”  _

_ Sally’s words stung like venom as she said them. _

 

_ “Catch on to what? Sally what’s going on here!?”  _

 

_ “Loving you was my greatest performance yet! I never broke character even once, did I babe!”  _

 

_ “No you didn’t sweetheart, it was your finest performance yet. For a while there, I almost thought you were actually in love with this monster!” Said the man. _

 

_ “Sally..you..said…” The Devil stood there, heartbroken. _

 

_ “I said a lot of things, but like a true actress, I never meant any of it. I was only using you so I could get my hands on your cash without looking too suspicious and getting all those free props and costumes from you. But alas, hubby’s car can only carry so much, so I had to drag out the performance. On the brightside. You’re one of the first people to act alongside the soon to be greatest actress in all of Inkwell! How does that make you feel?” Said Sally in a playful news reporter tone as she pulled out a microphone and held it up to the Devils face.  _

 

_ The Devil only growled in response. Absolutely outraged. _

 

_ “Looks like we better skedaddle sweetheart!!” Said Sally.  _

  
  
  


“I tried to get her before she left but she was too quick. She got away and I couldn’t go after her once she was out of Inkwell Hell…”

 

“Why not?” asked Mugs.

 

“I was thrown out of heaven by my father and banished to this specific place millions of years ago. He made it for all the people he deemed unworthy of heaven. I was the first one here so I made it my kingdom and punished the sinners as I saw fit. I found out soon after I opened the Casino that since I was banished here by my father personally, not only can I not get back to heaven, but I can’t even go outside of hell... I’m hell bound.”

 

“Really?” 

 

“Well, there is a one way I can leave. If I shapeshift into a different form I can get out. But shapeshifting seems to be the only magic I can use outside of hell. Not only that but If I stay out of hell for too long I begin to lose my strength.. Even If I wanted to find Sally, I’d be too weak to face her….”

 

“I sent my demons out, and even Dice and the employees to try and bring her back but they either couldn’t find her or they came back beaten….eventually we just gave up.”

 

“I see...So this was her dressing room. Wasn’t it?” Asked Mugs. That would explain why it was so old. It hadn’t been used in years. That also explained the abundance of women’s clothing and costumes.

 

“Yep. This was all hers....” The Devil said. A look of sadness beginning to find its way on to his face.

 

Mugman noticed this and was quick to console his soulmate.

 

“I’m really sorry that happened to you, Devil…” Mugs said, taking the Devil’s hand in his own.

 

“Don’t be. It was in the past, there is nothing you could have done. Besides...If it wasn’t for  _ Sally’s stageplay _ , our paths would have never crossed.” The Devil said lovingly, bringing the mugs hand up for a kiss.

 

Mugman couldn’t help but laugh at the Devil’s play on words.

 

“Oh my goodness! That was terrible!!!” Mugs chuckled.

 

“Heh, heh, you know this is the first time I’ve heard you laugh.”

 

Mugman quickly covered his mouth. A blue blush spread across his face as he tried to look away from the Devil.

 

“Aw, c’mon now, don’t be shy..I think your laugh is cute.” 

 

Mugman turned around, a twinkle in his eye so pure that the Devil could have died if it wasn’t for his immortality. 

 

“Really, you think so?” Questioned the mug. “It’s just that, a person I had a crush on said that my laugh sounded kind of dorky…” 

  
  


It was in that moment that the Devil was filled with unbridled rage, a thirst for vengeance ran through him like nothing he had felt before. How dare someone call his Mugman dorky. So what if he was, at least it was in a cute, charming way. If that was what this person was trying to imply they should’ve been more clear so that his Mugman wasn’t walking around feeling insecure about his amazing and cute laugh!! And if they were saying it to be rude…….then Devil could only hope that his father could send him one more present in the near future…

 

In the meantime, Devil wanted to make sure his new love knew exactly how wonderful his laugh actually sounded.

 

Something Devil had noticed is that Mugman was fully aware of his talents and the things that made him special, yet he was also very modest and a little sensitive about those things.

 

Now how could he…….the Devil smiled almost wicked-like when the idea came to him.

 

Mugs was currently trying to hide his laughter. If he wanted his mug to know how amazing is laugh was, he was going to have to hear it. 

 

And Mugman’s sense of humor obviously seemed to gravitate towards puns so…

 

“Hey Mugman, What do you call a thieving alligator?” 

 

“Devil, what are you talking about?”

 

“A  _ crook _ adile!”

 

Mugman, while confused as to why Devil would tell another pun out of the blue, he couldn’t help but laugh at it too. 

 

The joke got Mugs to laugh, which was good.. but he was still trying muffle it with his hand. 

 

Well, it seemed like Hell’s King would just have to get more serious about this.

 

“Man, what is the deal with vegetarians? Don’t they realize that becoming one is a big  _ missed steak _ !?”

 

Mugman almost let his laughter slip this time, but his hand was quick to have his back, covering his mouth yet again. 

 

“If people want to sing karaoke with a friend, they should just go ahead and  _ duet _ !”

 

Mugman was struggling to hold in his laugh now, even with his hand. “Devil! Devil stop! I can’t take it anymore!”

 

Mugman was curled up on the couch now, he was a quivering ball of laugh out loud nerves that were begging to let loose, but Mugman was determined to keep them in.

 

One more good pun oughta do it.

 

“So an untalented gymnast _ walks into a bar.” _

 

Mugman burst into a fit of laughter so loud that the whole casino could have heard it if it wasn’t for the loud music and slot machine noises. 

 

Mugman went on laughing for a full two and half minutes before finally calming down.

 

Mugman let out a long sigh before becoming flustered and upset.

 

“Ugh! Devil! Why’d you do that!?”

 

“Hey! I can’t have my Mugman sitting here all upset about his amazing laugh, I had to make you hear it for yourself.”

 

The room got quiet for a short moment. 

 

“Your Mugman?” The mug questioned.

 

Devil’s body went stiff. Did he just say that outloud!?  “Oh! Sorry. I get it, its too soon to be calling you that right? I’ll stop…”

 

The Devil’s speech was cut off by Mugman putting a finger to his mouth. 

 

“No no, don’t be sorry.” He said. “I kind of like the sound of that.” 

 

“Really…?”

 

“Yes, but you can only call me that on one condition.”

 

“Oh, look who’s the one making deals now..”

 

Mugman smiled before he spoke. “If I’m yours, then you're mine.”

 

The Devil paused for a moment before bursting into a light chuckle.

 

Mugman’s face flushed in both embarrassment and frustration.

 

“Hey! What’s the big idea!?”

 

“Forgive me, its just….I can feel that this love is different than the one I shared with Stageplay. With you, I can actually feel the love coming back in a full circle.” 

 

Mugman smiled. “Well, get used to it!”

 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

 

“Hey mugs, hate to interrupt but uh….you got a job to do here. Its time for your next performance.” Rufus’ voice sounded through the door. 

 

The Devil growled at the interruption. His minion should know better than to intrude on him.

 

“Hey there big guy, Its okay, It’s okay, He’s just telling me to do my job….Listen, we can spend more time together after closing time, okay?”

 

The Devil nodded reluctantly, wishing they didn’t have to put things on hold. Mugman took notice to this of course, and gave the Demon King a kiss on his big, round nose.

 

“Wait for me, my Devil...~” And waved goodbye as he headed out the door….

 

As soon as the mug was gone, the Devil allowed the flustered flames that have been building up inside of him to burst forth. 

 

He sat there for a minute, body engulfed by the flustered flames of hell. 

 

The feelings he felt for Mugman, as well as the feelings he could feel from Mugman were definitely different from the ones he felt with Sally. 

 

They were much stronger, and more….reassuring, in a sense…It was hard to explain.

 

These feelings were so strong and different that it made him feel like an idiot for even falling for Sally's tricks in the first place…

 

Feeling what he is feeling now, it was obvious to tell which feelings were true and which feelings were false. Speaking of his feelings towards Mugman, the Devil found his mind drifting off into thought of how much more amazing the mug was than that terrible Stageplay. 

 

First off, he was honest. That's a given…

 

He was also courageous, sophisticated, sweet, and of course, beautiful…

 

The Devil didn’t know how he could be so lucky. He thought his father hated him but it seemed he was being especially kind to him.

 

The Devil couldn’t think of anything that could possibly ruin this for him.

 

***

 

King Dice and Cuphead were serving up patrons left and right, working in perfect tandem to get the job done. Well, almost perfect tandem….

 

Cuphead kept finding himself lost in thought...King Dice was his first friend. Well, he thought he was. In the time that he and his brother had been working here, Cuphead found himself getting rather comfortable around the die. 

 

Maybe it was the fact that they survived a fire together that bonded them...it was hard to believe what Donnavan said. 

 

Was King Dice really only being friendly with him because of the fire? 

 

Cuphead smashed his palm against his forehead. How could he be so blind!? 

 

Of course King Dice wasn’t his friend! Cuphead has gone practically his whole life distancing himself from people, and anyone who got too close usually find out soon enough that Cuphead simply isn’t worth the time. 

Anyone who talked to him after that was usually just wanting to make some sort of deal..

 

So what the heck would someone like King Dice want with him anyway? He had it made here. He was basically the second in command if the Devil wasn’t spouting out orders. He was respected and strong. And Cuphead was beneath him in more ways than one. 

 

As much as Cuphead wanted a relationship, he could not forget that Dice was his boss. I would never work. Especially with Cuphead’s past experiences with sort of thing.

 

A while back, Cuphead used to offer their bosses “romantic favors” so that he and Mugman could keep their jobs. This was all behind Mugman’s back of course. If his sweet brother found out he was sure to look at Cuphead differently for it. So Cuphead kept it to himself. Being a model employee simply wasn’t enough for the terrible people they managed to get hired by.

 

Of course, the bosses he did this with usually got tired of him, like he was a worn out toy, so they ended up firing the brothers anyway. 

 

Cuphead only decided to stop once he realized what vicious cycle it all was.

 

He couldn’t help but wonder, was he attracted to Dice for this very reason?  Did his toxic relationships somehow infect his brain into having some sort of odd..THING for for his employers??

 

He shook the the thought from his head. It was then that Cuphead realized he had been standing in the same spot for maybe a little over a minute. He started going around picking up dishes again, but much slower this time…

 

***

 

As King Dice was making his rounds, he noticed Cuphead. He was doing his job, but really slowly. 

 

That's odd. King Dice had always thought Cuphead to be a strong and high-energy employee. To see him slugging around like this...it didn't feel right, something must be wrong…

  
  


When. He saw Cuphead bring the dishes back to the kitchen, he saw it as an opportunity to go see what was the matter with him.

 

He caught him at the kitchen's door, right before he went back to the task at hand. 

 

“Cuphead, wait a minute.”

 

“What's up Dice, you got somethin’ else you need me to do?” Cuphead asked. 

 

The response was a little snarky as usual, but Dice still sensed something was off. 

 

“No. Not really...I just wanted to..make sure you were okay..” 

 

Cuphead's whole body seemed to have froze for a split second. He looked at King Dice with big blue eyes. 

 

“You wanna know if I'm okay…?” 

 

“Yes actually. I'm probably overreacting but you've been moving a bit slow and you just seem like something's bugging you…”

 

Cuphead stared at the ground. 

 

King Dice suddenly felt a sense of anxiety run over his body. Had he overstepped a boundary!? He didn't mean to make things worse! 

 

“OH! But um, please! By all means, if you don't feel comfortable you don't have to talk about! I can just-” King Dice began excusing himself from the conversation.

 

“No!..I mean...no, it's just, you took me by surprise.” 

 

“I did?” 

 

“Yeah. It's just that…I can't remember the last time I've been asked that.” 

 

King Dice nearly lost his balance. This poor little cup has never had anyone ask him if he is okay? 

 

The mere thought of someone never even considering Cuphead's emotional state filled King Dice with sorrow. 

 

Cuphead deserved more than that. In just the small amount of time he had known the cup, it was quite clear that despite his deal with the devil, Cuphead was otherwise a smart, dependable and resourceful young man...dish. Not to mention skilled, strong and handsome. But that was besides the point! 

 

How could anyone just disrespect such a respectable person!? 

 

“Hey Dice…” Cuphead said. “Since ya seem worried and all, ya mind being honest with me for a second?”

 

Dice simply nodded.

 

“Okay. Just tell me the truth, no funny business. Alright?”

 

Dice nodded again, eager to see what was bothering the cup-head.

 

“You...Have you just been friendly to me because I saved you from the fire?”

 

Dice was stunned at the question. 

 

“What in the world would make you think that!?”

 

“It's just…” Cuphead trailed off, he wanted to tell KD what Donavan had said but he didn’t want to get his coworker in trouble.

 

“Its, just, I saw that you aren’t as friendly to the other employees here. But you were nice to me and I just...I guess I thought you felt obligated to speak with me..Is that true?”

 

“Cuphead…” 

 

“Its okay if it's true!” Cuphead cut the manager off before he could say anything. “Just tell me. I’d rather know the horrible truth than a stupid lie.”

 

“It isn’t true!” King Dice said, almost loud enough to draw the attention of the customers, but they quickly lost interest and went back to their meals.

 

“It isn’t true.” He said in a calmer tone. “Yes, I’m very grateful that you saved me from that fire but that isn’t why I’m nice to you.” 

 

“Really?”

 

“Of course not! You did many things before the fire incident that earned my respect. Like, catching that patron that was cheating and stealing my own cards. That was amazing!"

 

Cuphead looked at King Dice and then looked down at the floor. It looked like he wanted to believe King Dice, but he just couldn’t.

 

King Dice didn’t know what else to really say to convince the cup that he was telling the truth. Unless he told him of the small crush he had on him...but no! He wasn’t ready to reveal that.

 

Suddenly, The lights shut off and Mugman slid out on stage. Instantly catching the attention of the patrons with his fancy footwork and attractive outfit.

 

Without much of a second thought, King Dice took advantage of the patrons being distracted and hugged Cuphead tightly. The darkness of the casino (aside from the stage lights) concealing the action.

 

“I mean it.” The die said, as he continued to hug the cup.

 

Cuphead’s body went stiff in the arms of the manager. It had been a long time since he hugged anyone other than Mugman. He didn’t know how to react.

 

Slowly, he began to hug back. His body beginning to relax in King Dice’s embrace. Cuphead couldn’t quite explain it but the hug was strangely comforting. Almost like how Mugs hugged him. But this was different. He could feel it. Some sort of weird tingling in his heart.

 

It was nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am....SO sorry that this took so long. I really didn't mean for it to take this long. I had writer's block on top of a bunch of things/drama going on in my life and....I'm just sorry. But hey! I said i wouldn't abandon this fic and I didn't! So maybe I can have points for that...
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And thank you for all the patience and support! 
> 
> P.S. I think the next chapter is gonna take place a few months in the future. So we can really get into the plot of this fic.
> 
> Also i tried to proof read this but i was so tired that I don't think i did a very good job, so please excuse any misspellings i guess....


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't get into too much detail, but I'm back sorry for the long wait!!   
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Months had gone by since the cup brothers had moved into the casino due to their deal with the Devil. 

 

In the span of those few months, The cupbrothers had lived up to their end of the deal, with Cuphead doing an amazing job with his employee duties and Mugman bringing in the patrons with his fancy footwork.

 

Thanks to them, the Casino was all the buzz in Inkwell. Which had since then led to the Cup brothers earning back their souls and the freedom to leave the casino for good. However, that never ended up being the case. 

 

After they received their souls, Cuphead and Mugman were dismissed back to their room to pack up their things. However both brothers were hesitating…

 

There was an awkward amount of silence as they tried to pack their things…

 

“Hey..Cuphead...I wanted to talk to you..” Mugman said.

 

“What’s up bro?” Cuphead asked as he sat on Mugman’s bed, Mugman sitting next to him. 

 

“What are we...what are we gonna do?” Mugman asked. “I mean, once we leave here, we are pretty much homeless again, right?” 

 

Cuphead put his hand over his face and sighed heavily. “Yeah….” He said.

 

Being stuck working at the casino for no pay (other than getting their souls back and having a place to stay, albeit by “force”) had really messed up their current standings with their landlord. So much so, that she had come to the casino, demanding the money that they owed her and telling them that when this is over they can find a new place to stay. 

 

“I don’t know what to do Mugs…” Cuphead said as he laid back on the bed in defeat. 

 

“Its not like we made any money while we were here and now that we have our souls back...we can’t stay right?” Cuphead stated the obvious as he had his eyes closed. 

 

Mugman was quiet. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Cuphead spoke again after a few moments of silence. “This is all my fault. I always made it my top priority to provide for you. Roof over your head, food on your plate...but I threw it all away that night…”

 

“Cuphead no, don’t think like that!” Mugman begged. He hated when his brother blamed himself. “You listen to me mister! You have always been there for me, even now in this crumby situation with our souls you never left my side or tried to run away from your mistakes. Your the best brother a mug could ask for!” 

 

Cuphead looked at his brother with tear stained eyes but wiped  his arm across his face before before any of said tears could actually fall.

 

“Thanks Mugs.” He said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we really don’t have anywhere to go tomorrow. As soon as we are out of here we might be on the streets for a few weeks lookin’ for work before we can even dream about a decent place to live…”

 

“As long as we are together like we’ve always been, I’ll be fine. How about you?” Mug asked with a reassuring smile.

 

Cuphead chuckled lightly. “You are such a sap sometimes, bro..”

 

“Hey!” Mug exclaimed, an embarrassed pout on his face.

 

“But yeah..the last thing I need is to be alone in this world.” Cuphead finished.

 

A moment of silence passed before Cuphead spoke up again. “Ya’know, livin’ here wasn’t so bad. I mean, I know its crazy of me to say but-”

 

“No! No!” Mugman exclaimed. “I...I’d have to agree with you on that one.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah sure...I mean, its just…” A light blue blush dusted Mugman’s cheeks as he spoke. “Well, I never would have guessed in a million years that I would one day be able dance up on a stage and have a bunch of people tell me how great I was. And I love dancing! And here, I felt more motivated to move my feet than I ever have! Everyone wants to see me all the time! I know it may be a little wrong, given the entire reason I was dancing was because we needed our souls back but..I can’t deny that I was having, well...fun!”

 

“Aw Mugs!” Said Cuphead, again wiping away more tears before they could fall. “I’m just glad you could find any joy at all in our situation!”

 

“Besides that,” Mugman smiled. “Y’know what I’d miss most of all?” 

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Cuphead, being here, it's about the happiest I’ve seen you in awhile.” 

 

Cuphead looked at his brother. “For real? What do you mean?”

 

“Well, you seem you actually enjoy your job.” Mugman said. “I’ve worked alongside you my whole life and I’ve never seen you with such a genuine smile when you handle customers.You also seem to get along with the other employees, almost like you've made some friends! Especially with that King Dice.”

 

Cuphead blushed. “You mean Dice-face!?”

 

Mugman giggled. “Yeah, sometimes when I’m up on stage, I can see you chatting with him in the darker sections of the dining room between delivering your orders. I had wished the music wasn’t so loud so I could hear you laugh when he tells you something funny. And sometimes I see you go over to the casino floor and sit with him at the craps table during your breaks. I love the look of a gambler whenever you catch them cheating! And the way you guys high-five after you kick them out is adorable!”

 

“Sh-shut up Mugs! Ain’t nothin’ I do cute!” Cuphead said, red blush becoming darker on his cheeks.

 

“I bet King Dice thinks your cute though.” Mugman said.

 

Silence.

 

“You...You think he might?” Cuphead asked shyly.

 

“Aha! I knew you liked him!” 

 

“W-WHAT!?!” Cuphead stammered, face covered in red blush and this morning’s coffee in his head beginning to reheat. 

 

“Don’t play dumb with me brother! You have a huge crush on that guy, just admit it!”

 

“On Dice-face!? As if! Who cares about him and his stupid green eyes that look like stupid green gemstones! And his personality?  So what if he’s got like this weird charismatic charm that can run the whole casino like its nothing and is super nice to me throughout my day. Not like I asked him for anything! One time that weirdo had the AUDACITY to take off his suit jacket on our brake when it was really hot and he was sweating through his shirt you could totally see his 6-pack. Can you blame me for staring!? And his dumb deep voice and his stupid sexy laugh and-”

 

“Sexy!?” Mugman said with a wide grin on his face.

 

“Okay FINE! I may have, a very tiny, barely even there, crush on him. But it’s not like I think he’s all that cool or anything I just think...he’s, y’know...cool.”

 

“Cups, what the heck does that even mean?” Mugman asked.

 

“I don’t know! Shut up! I hate this entire conversation!”

 

Mugman’s laughter began to die down and a comfortable silence befell upon the two.

 

“I think we should-” They both began speaking at the same time. The chuckled awkwardly.

 

“You go first Mugs.” Cuphead said. 

 

“Well…” Mugman began. “I..I think we should try to stay.” 

 

“For reals?!” Cuphead asked, completely flabbergasted.

 

“AHhh! Is it really that bad of an idea?” Mugman squealed nervously, hiding his baby blue cheeks in a pillow. “Your right, I’m so sorry I mentioned it! I’m so dumb!”

 

“Hey hey! No Mugs! You got me all wrong! Your not stupid! I was gonna say that...well I was gonna say the same thing…”

 

Mugman lifted his head. “Really? You wanna stay too?” Mugman asked, undoubtedly surprised. “May I ask why?”

 

“Well, Its just like ya said! I am kinda happy here..with dice-face and the others.” Cuphead blushed after admitting that. “I actually really like my job. Nobody is treating me like crap and the workload isn’t that heavy. And blowing off steam on cheatin’ gamblers is the best!” Stars formed in his eyes.

 

“But Mugs.” He gave his brother a caring, serious look. “You know me. And you know I don’t do anything without thinking about you first.”

 

“What are you saying, Cuphead?”

 

“Brother, you seem just as happy here as I am.”

 

Mugman was quiet, waiting to hear what his brother had to say.

 

“You're happiest when you’re dancin’, Mugs. You get the biggest grin on your face when you do it. It’s like your feet are connected to your mouth or something!” Cuphead laughed. “When your up there on that stage havin’ the time of your life I feel like I can die happy right then and there…” He looked down fondly.

 

“Cups…”

 

“I can’t help it Mugs, you’re my only family, you’ve been my only friend for the longest time. If I had to pick between you and anyone in this Casino, myself included, I’d choose you everytime. So when I saw you on that stage moving around to the music, panting after you finish a long performance but ready to give an encore in the next second, high off your own adrenaline with these crazy stars in your eyes. It’s so amazing everytime I see it. You look so wild and free and just..happy!”

 

“Not to mention that Rufus guy can really keep up with you! I used to laugh when you’d ask me or one of your friends to dance with you only for us to get worn out in one song! Plus he has the skill to actually dance  _ with _ you, and not just next to you. It’s nice to know you’ve found someone that can give you something I can’t.”

 

“Heh! And you think  _ I _ made friends with the staff? You’ve made besties with them! You’ve even  made friends with the patrons! I bet this place didn’t have nearly as many regulars before you showed up! You're just this ray of sunshine that’s easy to talk to and people just come back for more. Hell, you even befriended the Devil himself!”

 

Mugman blushed when Cuphead finally brought up the Devil. 

 

“W-what about the Devil..?” Mugman asked shyly.

 

“Gee, I don’t know. Somethin’ about you that just gets to him for some reason. I mean, When I see him with you he laughs and seems..at ease? I follow Dice around a lot of the time helping him with stuff and sometimes he asks me to come with him when he reports to the Devil’s office. He’s pretty stern and quiet when Dice is speaking, but once we're done he always stops and asks me. _How’s your brother doing out there today?_ And everytime I answer him, tell him you’re dancin’ the night away as usual, he does this little smile...Like he cares about you or somethin’.”

 

Mugman blushes. It was nice to know Dev was thinking about him even when he was cooped up in his office.

  
  


“He probably does. I mean have you noticed the way he protects you from some of the more pervy patrons? With him being the Devil and all, I assumed he wouldn’t think twice if it were anyone else, but with you, he always seems to be there to scare them away…”

 

Cuphead’s expression morphed into his thinking face. The face he makes when he thinks about problems and situations. The face he makes when something doesn’t add up and he wants to know why. AKA the face he makes when something seems suspicious and he wants to know what’s going on.

 

Like why  _ is _ the Devil so much happier at the mere mention of Mugman having a good day and why _ is _ he so protective of Mugman? And why-

 

“OKAY!” Mugman says a bit too loud, snapping his brother out of his thoughts, almost like he knew what he was thinking.

 

“Huh? Mugs, you okay?”

 

“YeAH! I-I mean yeah, I just, I meant like, okay, if we both wanna stay here and I have made such a good... _ impression _ , on the Devil, maybe I can ask him to let us stay?” Mugman stuttered. 

 

“You think he’d let us?” Cuphead asked.

 

“Well I don’t see why not, we are clearly good at our jobs and get along well with his staff. If anything, his biggest concern would be paying us, but I think our payment could be just decent meals and a place to stay, like we do now. The only difference being that we get to keep our souls this time around.”

 

“Sounds like a good pitch. It’s worth a shot I guess. Go work your magic little bro.”    
  


“Yeah! Of course! I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Mugman said, leaving the room a little too fast and shutting the door.

 

Cuphead laid back on the bed. He went back to his thoughts. Maybe he was overthinking things with his brother and the Devil. Mugman just makes people happy. That mug radiates positive energy. Plus, he’s the Devil’s largest source of income, it’d make sense he’d wanna protect Mugs from pervy patrons that might ruin his mood or mentality for putting on a good show.

 

Cuphead wanted to think further but he was tired. Tired from work, tired from talking about his feelings, worrying about Mugs...so he passed out for a while. 

-     -     -   

 

Mugman walked down the halls that lead to the Devil’s office. 

 

Cheeks flushed and heart pounding. That was a close one! He hoped he was able to stop Cuphead’s thought process or lead him in to believing something else. 

 

He wasn’t quite ready to tell his brother about him and Dev just yet. Not many would blame him. It’s not often that one has to tell their older brother that they are in a consensual romantic relationship with the Devil himself.

 

Mugman made it to the door of the Devil’s office. 

 

Normally, one would knock, and wait for the Devil’s permission to enter or suffer his wrath. 

 

And during normal business hours, Mugman would do this.

 

But being Lucifer’s Lover ™ came with the perk of being able to open the door whenever he wanted without consequence. Not even King Dice was allowed to do that, but that man usually just used his floor-portal magic to bend the rules and simply appear in the Devils office. 

 

Mugman giggled as he remembered when Dev told him that after a few thousand years of King Dice doing that, he stopped getting mad and just... let him do it.

 

However, one day King Dice portaled in on him and Dev making out in the office chair.

 

On that day, the die simply turned around, saying he won’t tell anyone and that he will come back later.  _ “..So by all means, finish what you were doing. Apologies for interrupting, Boss.” _

 

And that is how King Dice was the only person in the Casino who knew about their relationship besides Rufus.

 

After a deep breath, Mugman opened the door. 

 

This wasn’t the first time he had entered the office after hours, so he was not at all surprised to see that the office was no longer an office, but a gateway to Hell itself. 

 

Mugman walked in with no fear, like he had done it 100 times before. 

 

Which he had. 

 

Now, King Dice and Rufus are the only ones in the  _ Casino _ that knew of their relationship.

 

But down here in Hell, everyone knew exactly who he was.

 

As soon as the demons on the other side heard the echo of the door shutting behind Mugman, the demons stopped their twisted acts and the ear bleeding screams of the damned went silent.

 

He took a step forward and the demons bowed.

 

Overtime these demons had become more and more obedient in his presence.

 

However there were a few lower level demons who simply couldn't get the picture. 

 

A low ranking feral demon launched itself towards Mugman, foaming at the mouth, hungry to attack. 

 

Mugman raised his hand. 

 

“Bow” He pointed his finger to the floor. “Down.” 

 

An invisible force sent the demon smashing into the rocky, heated floor. Unable to move, stuck kneeling submissively. 

 

He began to walk the trail when a familiar voice appeared next to him. 

 

“Boy Mugs, you sure are gettin’ good at this whole ruling the underworld thing!”

 

“Thanks, Rufus. You think it's weird that this comes so naturally to me for some reason?” Mugman asked with a smile. The question itself being more of a joke than an actual question. He was far too deep in to this to start questioning himself now. 

 

“Nah, it suits you! Your so cute and innocent lookin’ that it looks even cooler when someone like you makes a demon listen to them.” Rufus replied.

 

The two friends laughed. 

 

“But hey, that was more magic than you usually have, it looked cool but yeesh, I almost felt bad for the fella on the receiving end. What gives? Did the ring get stronger?” Questioned Rufus.

 

Mugman took off the gloves he was wearing, revealing a black ring with a small ruby gemstone. 

 

After they had done Hell's version of a wedding, a Soulbond, which was more of a ritual than a ceremony, the Devil had given Mugman this ring. 

 

Soulbonding didn't require either of them to wear a ring, but this ring was different. 

 

This ring was infused with the Devil's magic. 

 

everyone in Hell knew who he was as Mugman, the Devil's soulmate, but that didn't mean they wouldn't give in and attack him while he was down here. 

 

_ “While you are here in Hell with no soul, or a weak soul, my demons will be tempted to attack you even though they know who you are. The demons down here aren't like the ones that stay up in the casino. This ring radiates my magic. Think of it as....their reminder.” _

 

After saying that, the Devil taught him how to use the the ring whenever he came to Hell. 

  
  


Earlier today when he got his soul back, alongside his brother, Mugman felt different. He planned to ask Dev about it while he was down here. 

 

“I'm not sure.” Mugs answered his friend. “I’m planning on asking him about it though.”

 

Mugman kept walking the trail with Rufus by his side as they talked and talked like the good friends they were. They mostly talked about new dance moves to incorporate into their performance.

 

“What!? You really think I can do a triple axel on the floor!?”

 

“Hey, if anyone can do it, you can Mugsy!” 

 

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot during practice. But what do you think of my idea?”

 

“A Cheshire Cat Lift?”

 

“Yeah but instead of doing it traditionally, I was thinking I’d come at you with some freestyle, then we can do a Cupcake and morph it into the Cheshire Lift!” 

 

“That sounds...AMAZING!” Rufus said excitedly. “Where do you come up with these crazy combinations?”

 

“I don’t even notice how crazy they are till you point it out Rufus! I’m always too excited when I’m drawing my choreography notes to really think about it..” Mugman blushed nervously.

 

“Well I like it!”

 

Mugman laughed at his friend’s enthusiasm. “I was thinking of calling it the Cheshire Cupcake!”

 

“MUGMAN YOU BEAUTIFUL GENIUS!!” 

 

The dancing duo laughed and talked some more.

 

Before they knew it they had reached it, the Devil’s Palace...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! 
> 
> I LOVE brotherly fluff with the cup brothers! It was so fun to write them!  
> It was fun researching for the names of different dance moves! Cupcake is a swing move and Cheshire Cat Lift is a ballet move, triple axle is like an ice skating move but ive seen it done on the floor before so I thought it would be fun to add it anyway.
> 
> Also I finally have an idea for an ending in mind, so yeah this story is definitely getting finished! (still don't know how many chapters this will end up being tho)

**Author's Note:**

> So wow! I actually did this. I can't remember the last time I wrote fanfiction and actually posted it! 
> 
> So anyway I hope you enjoyed chapter one and chapter two will be up soon.
> 
> For any updates or questions you can visit my tumblr at https://shineymuffin5000.tumblr.com/ or https://gaymuffin3000.tumblr.com/
> 
> okay I'm gonna go try and draw stuff for this au now...I probably won't though lol.


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